Living Up To The Name
by TheDivineDemon
Summary: Grief hits us all and when it comes how we handle it can send ripples across the world. Watch as Xander Harris deals with his own and evolves from it.
1. Chapter 1

**So yeah. I'm on this whole Buffy kick right now and I love Type Moon so yeah. Anyway, I like Xander but I think the series could have taken a better direction with him. But that's what fanfiction is for.**

**This is what I like to call a "Becoming Fic" where the character develops personality traits and abilities similar to another character from another series. In this case Xander to Shirou/Archer. So, anyway, Type Moon fans expect things to lean more towards Buffy than Fate Stay.**

**Fate/Stay night belongs to Type Moon. Buffy and co belong to Joss.**

**Chapter one: Motivation**

Xander Harris just sat on his bed and stared at the item that laid in his hand. It was such a simple and crude tool but it would do its job.

He just wished he had.

He tightened and loosened his grip of the broken pool stick a few times, trying to get a feel of the rounded surface. He kept debating if he should burn it, throw it away, toss it into the bay. But he just couldn't bring himself to, it represented too much.

He should have done it but he froze.

All he had to do was push but he couldn't do it. He couldn't plunge the stupid thing into that, that monster that was wearing Jessie's face. He couldn't do that one favor for his best friend, for his brother. He couldn't kill that bastard that stole his brother's face.

He was just too scared to do it. And because he hesitated some random girl killed it. She just bumped into the monster as she ran by scared ramming the monster onto his makeshift stake.

He was useless. Weak.

He had to get stronger.

He had to get better.

Most of all he had to grow the hell up.

Almost to prove the point he glared around his room at all the junk that laid a round. Clothes, his skate board, a pile of comic books. Stuff you'd typically see in a teenage male's room. But it made him feel all the dumber and all the weaker.

He wanted to rage. He wanted to hit something. He wanted to hit those fuckers back for what they'd taken from him. And more than that, he was not going to let them touch his little sister. He would tear that decrepit thing they called the underworld apart before any vampire got close enough to even think of biting her.

But he had to ask himself 'what could he do?'. He wasn't like the new girl Buffy who was like some sort of Wonder Woman called a Slayer. She was strong, fast and just knew what to do against those things. And then there was the librarian Mr. Giles. He was Buffy's… Watcher, which basically meant he was the mega brain of the occult behind her brawn. Hell, even Willow was more use than him during that whole mess. Using her hacking skills to help map out sewers. It was like the Slayer had her own personal Jason Blood and Oracle.

All he really did was get in the way. He was too busy trying to impress Buffy to see what was really going on. How terrifying the things she was facing were. He had near frozen on the spot when he saw his first vampire, nearly peed his pants when he saw his second. Granted it was in the space of less than a minute but still.

He could honestly say he never seen anything more frightening in his life. And when he saw Jessie's face twist into the vampiric face he couldn't move and that was when it had happened. He had heard from the Librarian that when a person is turned their bodies no longer have a soul. No heartbeat, no breath, just a demon moving around a corpse. Seeing Jessie like that had hardened his fear and the night at the Bronze had chiseled that fear into a hatred he wasn't sure he could rid himself of.

Glaring one last time at the broken pool stick he set it on top of his dresser and started to move towards his closet.

Pushing passed a few piles of clothes lying at the bottom of the floor Xander found a familiar case. One he had been thinking about since summer ended, as he did every year.

The case held memories of the time before his dad started to crawl into the bottle. When he actually wanted to spend time with his son and teach him how to be a man.

From the time he was eight until he was thirteen his father would take two weeks off from his job every year to take Xander hunting, sometimes they'd have a quick weekend trip. Good times. He learned a lot and got to spend time with his dad. Xander could still remember that one time he convinced his dad to let Jesse come along with them. His friend was a vegetarian for a week after that.

Xander's nostalgic smile started to bade away as he remembered why he was about to open the case. He was going to go hunting again.

When Tony Harris was teaching his son to hunt he taught him the old 'proper' way to hunt. Not with guns that every other amateur and idiot could use but the way of the 'real hunter', the bow and arrow. His father would go on and on about how it took real skill to use a bow and he wouldn't have his son running for second best. If you do something you try to be the best, or at least the best you possibly could be.

Opening the case he revealed his neglected compound bow. It was child's bow, made for smaller, weaker shooters. It wasn't much but it was all he had at the moment.

Picking up the black bow he started to check it over, seeing how bad the neglectful damage was. It was the first time he even touched the thing in months, only even opening the case to think of better times.

To be perfectly honest he wasn't even sure if an arrow would be all that effective on a vampire, he'd have to ask Giles about that, but it was a skill. A skill that he could use. A way that he could be more of a man, not a little boy who got in the way.

He tightened his hold on the bow for a moment as he remembered his father's lessons, even the ones from his slurred speeches. A man protected what was his. He fought for what was his. He died for what was his. He killed for what was his.

And that was what he to be prepared to do. To keep his Willow, his little sister, safe.

She would live even if he had to die.

It would take some time, he knew, to get at the level he needed to be. But sooner or later Sunnydale's mini Justice League would have its own Green Arrow.

**Authors note:**

**The first chapter is shorter than I liked but I'm already working on the next and hopefully longer chapter but please be patient with my busy schedule.**

**Oh and there is no DC crossover in this. Its just me trying to put things in Xander's point of view.**

**Tell me what you think.**

**p.s. This was originally in the Buffy only section when I wanted to make people guess who he was going to turn into. I'm a little nervous about putting it in the Crossover section because of how hard core some Type fans are and how this is written. But I'm willing to chance the back lash.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I had the basic idea for this story for a while and Klimmatt's Xander's Arrow challenge just gave me a little more push to do it. The idea came to me after watching the first two episodes and wondering why Xander wasn't more pissed. I mean all these people write about how Jesse was his brother but they put it in as an afterthought, not understanding how far that could drive someone, how it could twist their mind. But I'm ranting and I think you get my point.**

**Additional note I want to make clear, there is no bashing in this fic, or I'll try not to. Just personalities, opinions, and philosophies crashing. I would explain but that would lead to a rant.**

**Enjoy the story **

**Chapter two: What should we do?**

Willow Rosenberg has always been an emotional person. She was quick to tears and always the first to smile. But as she walked to school she only felt numb. Empty.

As the daughter of two psychologists and a genius in her own right she realized that she was going through an Acute Stress Reaction. Or as it was commonly referred to as shock. It was an accurate slang to the term as if felt as if she had been short circuited. Her brain seemed to refuse to process certain events, freezing her in a near empty mental state.

She even realized how robotically she was walking and that the bright smile on her face was probably off and creeping people out. Normally that would have bothered her and given her a tomato like blush but she just couldn't find it in herself to care.

As she moved onto the campus grounds she started to walk towards the library. To be honest she wasn't even going there to see the new-librarian-who-was-really-a-Watcher, though it did help the decision. It was because she was the brain girl, the smart one. The library is where she belonged.

Or so she made the excuse for herself sound.

Again, she was a smart girl, she knew she was feeding a habit to adapt the shock. Why not make it have at least some positive effects? Knowledge was her drug and she injected it into herself whenever she could. The only thing that gave her more of a rush was being able to use that information, or as her boys… Xander said "showing off the head muscle".

She wasn't really showing off, more like appreciating the knowledge gained.

So when she went to the library to get her usual reading material she may or may not ask the librarian some extracurricular questions.

But when she entered the library she found she wasn't the first one there. Or the first one asking about Sunnydale's night time activates.

"How about garlic?" a familiar voice asked as she opened the doors.

"W-we're not actually sure how that misconception started but no, vampires have no adverse reactions to garlic."

"Really? No bad things? Not even with those super noses you told me about?"

The librarian made a humming sound as she cleared the door saw the occupants for the first time of the day. The elder man in tweed and cleaning his glasses in thought had become a fixture in past month but the other figure wearing blue jeans and a brightly colored shirt was a surprise.

He tended to avoid the library unless to find her or get a book for class. And he never came to school early before.

"That has been the idea in the past but other than irritating the vampire it doesn't do much." The British man said as he placed his glasses back on his nose.

"Huh…" came the oh so elegant response from the teen before he turned his attention to the closing door "Hey Will."

"Hey" Came her rather weak response back. She should have been able to say more. Tell him how sorry she was, how sad she was but she couldn't.

He must have understood that because the next moment he was next to her with an arm wrapped around her shoulder. "You okay Wills?" his voice soft as he looked down at her.

She wanted to cry, she really did but her eyes just wouldn't fulfill the action.

"I think I'm in shock." She said neutrally, trying to find some emotion to put out.

"And that is of the bad?" Xander said unsurely. Xander was not much for book smarts. Hell most the stuff he knew came from comic books and movies. But from his action movies he could guess that shock was bad.

"Not so much… as long as I get over it soon." Again she answered mildly. She hoped it would pass soon enough otherwise she would be forced to seek professional help, which would lead to her parents finding out and getting their version of the third degree over the phone. "What are you two talking about?"

"What pisses off and or kills a vampire" Xander said with a false cheer that anyone could see through. "I was about to move on to crosses and why they hurt the bastards."

"Yes, well, I am still left with a question of my own." The man stammered at first before becoming a little more resolved as he peered over his glasses. "As in why are you asking all these questions Xander?" The man's British accent seemed twist around the unfamiliar name. "While I appreciate your help the other night I must say I was hoping you understood how dangerous the situation was, is."

The boy nodded "Yes, yes I do. And that's why I'm asking questions."

"I can understand that but you're particular line of questions strikes me as odd." Giles said looking at the boy steadily "These aren't questions on how to avoid vampires. These are question on how to combat them, rather aggressively I might add."

Willow blinked, finally feeling something in the form of surprise. Exactly what did she walk into? Had Xander already started to ask the questions she wanted to ask? Or was he just on similar line with a different goal.

"So?"

"So" the older man began "I find myself thinking you want to handle the situation with a direct approach."

"So?"

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up to his brow accidently, while Willow blinked again.

To be honest Giles wasn't so much irritated as worried, for two reasons. The first was that the young man in front of him wasn't considering how much danger he was going to put himself in and two, it seemed the boy was dead set on becoming a hunter, an American hunter. Like he didn't have enough problems as it was.

Demon Hunters were bad enough on their own when dealing with the Council but an American one… they were a bit on wild end of crazy. Last time he saw an American hunter he was firebombing a vampire nest, in the middle of the day, in down town New York.

He wasn't sure if Sunnydale needed someone like that or not. While he wasn't going to keep the two children from helping, he would do his best to keep them as far from the line of fire as possible. But Xander didn't seem to want to sit in the back where it was safe.

"So." Giles said, once again repeating the boy's question "This is not some game that you can recklessly skip into. This is a harsh business" here his stutter came back as he hesitated to tell the teens exactly how most in the 'know' treat their situation "A business many consider a war."

"Just like the stock market" the young man quipped earning a growl of frustration from the librarian. "Look Mr. Giles, I'm not backing down so stop whatever spiel you were about to shove in my face." The boy snapped back at the growl causing Giles to blink as Xander unwound his arm from Willow's shoulder "They took my little brother. I want the ones responsible dead."

Again Willow wanted cry but she couldn't. All she could get out was "Oh, Xander."

Xander didn't look back at the girl he considered a sister as he stared, more like glared, at the other man in the room. "Besides, I asked you already if arrows would work. You said yes, I have arrows, I don't really see what you can do to stop me… well besides breaking my legs but I doubt you would do that."

Usually Xander would have been a bit more respectful but he could still feel the anger from last night pumping through his veins. No one was going to talk him down from what he felt needed to be done.

Giles didn't glare back but he met the boy's brown eyes with his green. He was silently considering what the boy said. It seemed Xander would fight with or without heeding Giles warnings or consent. But if he interpreted the boy's words right he had some skills that might be useful, or he thought to be useful. "And I assume you have the skill to properly hold a bow and fire in the dark?"

"I used to hunt with my dad when I was younger." Xander said with a shrug, losing some of his ire since Giles was willing to listen to him "I'm a bit rusty but he drilled a lot of stuff into my head, mostly on how to shoot an arrow right."

"And you can shoot in the dark?" The man asked again, pointing out one of the biggest flaws in his opinion "And how would you carry around the bow without being noticed by the authorities? And what will you do when you miss and the vampire notices you?" Once he started to think about it there were several problems with the boy's idea and Giles didn't have a problem telling Xander what they were.

Xander opened his mouth once and closed it before speaking "I don't know but I'll work on it." He said omitting the line about batman not being built in a day in his head. He wanted to show Giles just how serious he was about joining the fight. While he was serious that he would go out on his own he figured Giles would know more about how to kill these bastards than his comics would.

And, a second thought came a second later, keep him alive a bit longer. Somebody needed to keep an eye on Willow.

Giles sighed as his weak final attempt failed. "Fine." The British gentleman said "But you will meet my standard before you go out, is that understood?"

Xander pursed his lips but he nodded. He wasn't expecting to go out immediately anyway. "Fine… I'm going to head to my homeroom. Catch up on some sleep before class starts. Want me to walk you to your room Willow?"

The red head blinked, it seemed that was the only genuine expression of the day, and shook her head. "No. I'm fine. I wanted to do some stuff in the library anyway."

"Doing stuff is good." Xander said absently as she stared at her for a second, looking her over for any surface damage. There was none but it didn't stop him from worrying about that shock thing she talked about. "Do you want me to stay or…" He was tired but his Willow came first.

Willow shook her head "No. I'm fine." Seeing his still concerned stare she tried again "Really, Xander go take your nap." When he seemed reluctant she actually said "please"

Xander's brows scrunched together for a moment before he nodded "Alright… I guess. I'll check up with you later."

Willow waited a moment after Xander cleared the door before she started to ask Giles her own questions. Giles in response started to rub his eyes.

Xander found that he couldn't make it all the way to his classroom as he passed by the court yard. To put it simply he was stunned. So stunned he actually stopped in his tracks and shamelessly eavesdropped.

The center of the conversations was the night prior at the bronze and he had to wonder if he was that stupid before too. To just so blindly ignore what was really going on and fall for every paper thin plausible excuse.

Was it hopeful thinking, idiocy or mass insanity?

He crossed his arms as he leaned against a nearby wall, all the while listening to the mindless gossip that was high school.

One conversation seemed to summarize the stupidity in which they lived in, unsurprisingly it was being said by Cordelia Chase. Very hot but not that bright.

"Well I heard it was rival gangs. You know, fighting over turf. But all I can tell you was that they were an ugly way of looking. And that Buffy girl, like, knew them! Which is just too weird. I mean, I don't even remember that much, but I'm telling you, it was a freak show!"

Was she really that stupid? That blind? Was he? Was the super genius Willow?

"Oh, I wish I could have been there!"

That air headed cheerleader definitely was that stupid. Even if she didn't know the truth why would she want to go to a gang fight? Admittedly cool to see, stupid to watch.

Cordelia just nodded her head, seemingly in full agreement with her friend "You should have been. It was creeeeppy."

Xander unconsciously tightened the hold he had on his arms.

It wasn't creepy. It was terrifying. Didn't she have any idea of how close they all came to dying? That some people they would never see again?

"What exactly were you expecting?" a voice asked to his right, startling him enough to stand straight and face her on impulse. At first he saw nothing but open air till he looked down slightly to see a head of blonde hair and green eyes. It was Buffy.

"I don't know. Just something, maybe an assembly about what we all saw." He offered weakly. He honestly didn't know what to expect, something more than what he was seeing at least.

"People tend to rationalize what they can and forget what they can't." A British voice said from behind him, making him jump once again to see who was coming up behind him. What was it, scare the crap out of Xander day or something? He needed to work on not acting like an jittery cat.

Turning around he and Buffy found Giles and Willow walking up to them, Willow's smile still seeming forced and out of place on her face.

Next to him he could see Buffy nod her head in the corner of his eye "Believe me, I've seen it happen." Her face twisted into a grimace. She obviously had some experience with that.

"I'm never going to forget," Willow said in her stirring monotone "None of it."

The other three gave her a worrying glance. Giles hesitantly put a hand on her shoulder, beating Xander to the punch who had taken a step forward to hug his friend "Good. Don't forget. Next time you'll be prepared."

Xander nodded "Next time." He promised himself and maybe her as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder again. Next time would be a whole different ball game.

"Next time is why?' Willow asked. Was there worry in her voice, she wondered. She hoped, she was worried, she thought so anyway.

"We've prevented the Master from freeing himself and opening the Mouth of Hell. That's not to say he's going to stop trying. I'd say that this is just beginning" Giles said

Willow looked at him "More Vampires?"

"More than that. There are numerous threats we may face." Giles said, directing his gaze between the two he knew would or want to do the fighting. He wanted them to understand that while vampires were dangerous and probably their most common opponent there were others out there. A wider variety than they would expect or currently imagine,

"I can hardly wait" was Buffy's sarcastic reply but underneath it he could only hope she took his warning seriously. Xander just nodded at him.

He was honestly worrying about the two new inductees of the super natural world. They had a harsh introduction into the truth and it was plain to see that they were having some severe reactions to it.

Maybe he could dissuade them, make them, all three of them understand what they are walking into "We're at the center of a mystical convergence here. We may, in fact, stand between the Earth and its total destruction" A little thick even for his taste but it was true. It was what they were walking into, they needed to understand. Buffy didn't have much of a choice but the other two did. They were humans with free will, no one was looking over their shoulder forcing them to fight, he could only hope he could guide them to the best options.

Buffy actually smiled at him and quipped "Well, I gotta look on the bright side. Maybe I can still get kicked out of school!"

Xander snorted "Oh, yeah, that's a plan" He said as he started to guide a seemingly dazed Willow to class, he would have to talk to her about that later.

Giles shook his head as he walked back to the library, silently thinking on what books he should lend to help prepare the teens as well when to schedule a test of Xander's supposed skills. He wouldn't have much time to help the two teens between his research, job and Buffy's own training but he would do his best.

**Authors note:**

**Real quick on Buffy's height, the actress who played her is five three so a sixteen year old Buffy is probably four eleven or five flat. Xander is probably around five seven right now and Willow an inch or two taller than Buffy.**

**Also I'm still looking for a beta, so if anyone is interested please message me. The chapters are going to get longer and I would like to have a little back up.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think and peace.**

**(p.s. Don't get excited this chapter was already written for TTH, Chapter three won't be done before the weekend)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took so long but I had to get my lap top repaired and once I got it back was about 2000 words in a virus call Win 7 nearly killed my computer. After two weeks of fighting the damn thing we won but I still had a few thousand words to go... yay.**

**Chapter three: No utility belt**

Giles had to admit, he was impressed with what he was seeing.

The boy's form was good, even with the diminutive bow, and he was constantly hitting center mass of the target. His reload was quick and he seemed to notch the arrow properly. While true some movements seemed forced or forgotten the teen was doing well. There was only one problem.

"Ouch!"

He didn't pay attention to his surroundings.

"Giles! Do you have to use golf balls!"

"Will you start minding your surroundings if I don't?" He asked mildly. Pain was a good teacher, the more you bleed in peace the less you die in war, or however that rubbish went. Besides it was mildly entertaining. Much better than getting kicked around by a fifteen year old girl all day. He still couldn't get her to stop dropping her shoulder, at the rate she was going she was never going to move onto the more complex weapons training.

Xander at least was listening to him and improving, if only slightly. When he did pay attention to his surroundings his aim suffered, when he focused on the target he was pegged in the head by a golf ball. He was making some progress in minding his surroundings but he wasn't expecting leaps in ability. The boy was doing well but this was only their first session together.

He would try to work more in but he had his own life and responsibilities.

Xander dodged the next one thrown but his knee was hit by the next volley.

After the boy was done swearing the librarian decided to call it a day "I'm sorry Xander but we'll have to close it up for the day." The older man said as he started to gather the golf balls from the ground "The sun is going down any way, it's best if we get inside."

"Why? Don't I need to practice at night anyway? Xander asked but went to the arrow ridden tree anyway "Shouldn't I be practicing at night?"

Giles gave him a dead panned look "I do not believe that practice is worth getting eaten over."

"Point."

As they packed themselves up Xander restrained himself from sighing or mumbling something. When Giles said he would help him out he was more hoping for something more than having golf balls thrown at him. He got what Giles was trying to do... sort of. And he got that he need to practice, but why not practice in a more practical setting?

With some more anatomically correct targets.

Because what they were doing now wasn't enough. He appreciated Giles, help he really did but he learned over the past three years that the only way to get something done was to do it yourself.

Maybe he could stay out later. Get a little target practice in.

No. No. He wasn't ready yet.

He had to keep reminding himself that.

It took Batman more than a decade to become who he was, he couldn't expect to be ready over night. Xander gave a mental chuckle at that thought. Was it really the best or sanest way to go about things to compare yourself to comic book charters?

Maybe it wasn't but it was the only way he could rationalize the world anymore. To think of the others as heroes, of Buffy as Super Girl or Wonder Woman, and of himself as a hero in training.

Huh, he was going to be a super hero.

Just like he and Jesse always wanted.

"Xander are you alright?"

Xander snapped out of his inner monologue and turned towards the concerned face of Rupert Giles "Yeah, yeah. I'm good." His voice wasn't cheerful or dismissive just distracted as he closed his bow case and started to make his way to leave. "I'm fine. See you later Giles."

Giles stared at the boy's back as he started to walk away, wondering if he was doing the right thing. Wondering if maybe he should have called in an old friend to alter the boy's and even Willow's memory of the week prior. "Yes, you too Xander." He would probably always wonder. Maybe it was because of the resources that the two gave to the effort, maybe it was because he didn't want to take away the only two friends his Slayer could confined in or maybe it was because he didn't think he could take away the truth from them.

As Xander walked in the dwindling sunlight he started to wonder if he should just go straight home like Giles suggested. It's not like he had anything to really do there, all he would do was deal with his half conscious father and read the demon book Giles told him to read.

It was a dry read but interesting in the way of information. Giles was right when he said there were more than just vampires out there to worry about.

When Giles talked about the Hellmouth he was serious in the fact there was a hell, multiple hells. And there was a demon for each one.

That scared him. The pool of enemies just widened by miles.

He couldn't believe he was saying this but he needed to... study.

Study every possible way to kill these things, luckily there was a reason why demons made themselves scarce in England after the long bow showed up. The arrow wasn't always lethal but what was on them could be, plus having two feet of wood sticking out of your chest is just inconvenient.

But he needed more than information to win a war. Yes it was a war, a brutal war under everyones' noses and he needed to be ready.

He thought of what others leading their own war had and needed to survive and it was simple. Skills, equipment, brains and fitness. Those four hard won and got things that turned a normal man into something more. Batman had them, Green Arrow had them, the god damn Punisher had them. He needed to get them... somehow, someway.

He would get them.

It was just a matter of how and when at this point.

* * *

><p>It was now official. Jesse had been declared missing by his parents.<p>

They had held out hope he'd just ran away for a week and would be back by the weekend. Optimistic even for people who didn't know the truth.

He thought about visiting them but decided against it. He really wasn't sure he could handle the emotional turmoil of walking into Jesse's house. Where the three of them used to play together since kindergarten, where he and Jesse would yell at each other who was the better super hero. He actually thought he might cry if he walked in there, and he never cried, men don't cry. That's what his dad taught him.

A thought struck Xander as he swerved to school on his skate board. Would Jesse every get a grave? A funeral?

Probably not. But damn it he deserved better than that!

A lot of people deserved better than that.

Vampires. How could something that used to be such a joke to him leave such a dirty taste in his mouth? They needed to die. All of them.

Xander's brood came to a quick stop as he arrived in front of his school. He stumbled slightly as he continued his walk inside. Normally he wouldn't care about that slight stumble he had after getting off his board but now it was a weakness, something that needed to die.

A lot of things needed to change.

"Boo!" A cheerful voice said from behind him.

Xander yelped, jumped and turned. And here was something else he had to kill, being as jumpy as a caffeinated three year old. The boy gave the smiling blonde a glare "Give me a heart attack why don't yah ninja girl."

"Sorry." She said with a restrained laugh "You just seemed so zoned, it was hard to resist."

Xander glared at the new girl for a second more before sighing to himself. She didn't deserve any of his anger, he wasn't sure what did. Himself maybe. But not her. She was a genuine super hero. She needed help not yelling. Besides she was a nice enough person not to warrant any yelling at... cute too.

"Yeah, well, resist harder next time." okay a little more bite to that than he wanted and he apologized right after for it.

"It's okay." she said easily enough "But, you alright?" she actually sounded worried.

"Yeah, I guess..." his mental gears ground for a moment as he thought of telling her of his problems. She was a friend but she was a friend he only met last week. "You see Willow yet?"

"No. I thought you two kept constant surveillance on each other." That was actually a half way decent idea, he'd have to put some though into that later."Maybe she's in the Library."

"Yeah, probably... Walk you there?" He asked with as cheesy of a smile as he could manage and an over done arm sweep. It earned him a laugh, that was good, he guessed.

As the two were walking down the hallway Buffy stopped at a posted flyer. Peeking over Xander saw it was something about Cheerleading tryouts later in the week. "You signing up?"

It was an innocent question but it seemed to cause her face to scrunch up as a myriad of emotions and thoughts slammed through her "Maybe..." Before the whole Slaying gig was dropped on her she was a cheerleader, a good one and she enjoyed it too. Maybe it could be a link to her past life, before vampires started to invade everything she did. Besides it would probably stop her mom from worrying about her. "... Probably."

Xander shrugged, even Superman had hobbies.

Willow was in the Library and was unsurprisingly nose deep in a book. She was getting progressively better over the weekend. She actually cried on Saturday and was starting to involve herself in conversations. She actually smiled and waved to them as they entered the room "Hey guys."

"Hey Wills/Willow." The two responded in an eerie synch that had both them do a double glance at each other. Xander was the first to speak "Okay, jinx and weird." Buffy made a face at losing the jinx race "So what you reading?"

"Something about a..." She paused as she tried to work the subject's name "Shaa'taix demon. They lay their eggs in marshes and feed off dead bodies, which is ewww, but interesting."

Buffy leaned over to look at the illustration on the page "Ugh, Why are even looking at that?"

Willow shrugs "Something to do"

"Willow is the all mighty sponge of the library." Xander said with a sage nod. "Beware!"

Both girls give him an amused look.

"So where's Sunnydale's answer to Bond?"

"I honestly don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult." Giles stated as he exited from behind a book case pushing a cart of books with him.

"It's however you want it." Buffy gave him with a mock piteous look.

Giles sputtered before recovering realizing the girl didn't realize the double entendre she said "Yes, well moving on."

* * *

><p>Xander was pushing himself harder through gym class than ever before, trying to memorize every exercise the coach put them through before deciding the day's activity. It was basic he guessed. He didn't know much about working out so he'd ask the coach after class for some advice, say he was trying to get into better shape.<p>

"You… want to get in shape Harris?" The coach asked in disbelief. Xander couldn't really blame him seeing as he spent most his time hiding in the back of the group avoiding doing anything most of the time.

"Yes sir." He said politely.

"You want to work out?"

"That's the general idea sir." Okay minor quips are to be expected of him "Do you have any advice on what I could do at home?"

The coach finally shaking himself out of his shock and realizing that he was suppose to be a teacher started to give the boy some advice "Well, most the stuff we did during warm-ups in a bit of larger doses could help you firm up but I'm going to be honest with you, most people find that boring as hell. They can't get themselves motivated it enough by themselves. A good mile or two run a day does the body good but I suggest you find a sport." The coach looked him over "A light contact sport. More fun and even more, motivating."

Xander gave a nod as he contemplated what was said, though he had to disagree on the motivation. Right now no one had more motivation than him "Thanks coach." He said sincerely before walking off to the locker room.

The suggestion about finding a sport had triggered a thought in Xander. While not exactly a sport, he needed to learn how to fight so that meant a marital art.

But didn't those classes cost a fortune to keep up? Maybe he could ask Giles if he knew…. No. Giles was already doing a lot as it was. He had to do this by himself.

He'd check out the local gyms later and see how much they were and how much he'd have to save to get the basics.

* * *

><p>Xander was absently following the girls two days later after school. He had looked and asked around the burg the day before and found seven martial arts places within a reasonable distance of his home. He was sure there was more if he took a bus but he'd be strained for money as it was. Seriously, he was going to be strapped for cash just to pay for a month at the cheapest place.<p>

Good news was that most those places had a free trail program that gave him free lessons for a month. So maybe he could use that somehow.

"So, I take it Giles didn't take it well?" Willow's voice dragged him out of his musing as he noticed they were actually walking. He must have been on autopilot or something.

He really wasn't interested in the girls' conversation but what Buffy said next did get his attention "He totally lost his water. I mean what's so wrong with wanting to join the cheer squad?"

Off the top of his head Xander came up with a few horror movie jokes and one about cheerleading being the gate way drug to cults. But he figured she was freaking enough as it was.

Apparently Willow had an opinion on the subject as well but thought better against it and just decided to be supportive. "Well, were behind you." Buffy gave them a dazzling smile while Xander wondered what they were doing again.

Oh yeah, cheer try-outs. Buffy was looking at that flyer a few days ago.

Jesse would have been the one to drag him here if he was still around. His stalker like crush on Cordelia giving him endless laughs, not to mention leering at all the scantily clad girls stretching and jumping around. It would have been a very… spiritual experience. But now he wasn't sure he could enjoy it.

Shaking his head he managed to say "Good luck Buffy." Willow gave him a quick glance, obviously finding his behavior over the last few days strange but knowing her mega mind she understood. Or thought she did anyway.

He should probably prepare for some psycho babble later.

Willow was about to say something to Buffy but her attention was caught elsewhere as her eyes widened with excitement "Amy!" Willow started to wave a blonde girl over. "HI!"

Amy was one of their friends but they hadn't really seen her around school lately, something about homeschooling. Apparently it agreed with her since she'd lost a good deal of weight.

And Willow said as much when she came over. But her response was a fairly flat "Had to." Not that friendly but he figured it was that whole 'Don't talk about her weight' thing.

After giving his greeting he started to zone out again, more so when they started talking about Cheerleading coaches. Like he needed to hear that.

His attention flickered back to the cheerleaders every so often when one of them did something more elaborate. One of them was totally ruling the stage as she danced across the floor. She was smoking.

Wait… she was really smoking. Oh shit! She was on fire!

Buffy was the first one to react as she pulled down a banner and patted the girl down, smothering the fires as she did.

Buffy started to whisper comforts to the injured girl, rocking her back and forth as she cried from the pain.

All the while Xander was cursing himself for freezing again.

* * *

><p>Buffy was pacing around the room in frustration at the answer that Giles gave them to their dilemma, actually he seemed rather enthused with the whole thing. Something about how it was the thrill about the Hellmouth "You never know what you'll face next". Xander really didn't find that at all comforting or exciting.<p>

It didn't help that as far as they could tell what was going on and their best guess was spontaneous combustion. And that was iffy.

Buffy decided to snap out of her aggravated pacing "I need to get the skinny on Amber. Find out if she's had any colorful episodes before…" and before she could leave the room Willow was up and moving towards the computer.

"That means illegally hacking into her records. Finally! Something I can do!"

Xander seemed to shrug as he stood "I'll ask around about her, see if anything pops up."

Buffy didn't seem to like that. "You guys really don't have to get involved."

Xander didn't like that "We are involved." He gave her a smile "We're a team."

Willow nodded "Yeah! You're the Slayer, and we're, like, the Slayerettes!" Everyone paused and gave her a strange look, even Xander.

"Strange name aside, we're helping."

Buffy scuffed her feet a little but looked both of them straight in the eye at intervals "I don't like putting you guys in danger."

Was it wrong to feel numb about the fact there would be danger? "I laugh in the face in of danger." Probably because he wouldn't know what else to do.

Buffy didn't seem to be appeased but something made her agree. Whether it was that she wanted friends who understood this part of her or that she understood they wouldn't back down no one knew. She probably didn't either. "Okay, just walk softly, at least until we know a little more. I mean, what if Amber isn't causing these problems herself?"

* * *

><p>"Bullies huh?"<p>

The man in front of him was burly and well-muscled, his head bald and a goatee christening his face. The kind of guy that made you think twice about making fun about the stupid shirt he was wearing in case he wanted to take a swing at you.

"Yeah…" What else was he supposed to say? He wanted to learn how to fight to beat the crap out of person so he might survive fighting vampires and other things that go bump in the night?

"Okay…" The man said considering the facts Xander gave him. He was a bullied kid with no money coming to his gym to use the free trial to maybe learn something to help defend himself with. He wasn't unsympathetic but he didn't see much more he could do then give him the general classes and give some tips here and there. "Free trial gets you classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday… We have gloves and wraps here so just come in shorts and a t and you'll be fine."

Xander gave him a grateful smile. That was one thing he was worried about, he couldn't come to boxing lessons without gloves could he. "Thank you sir."

"Just come to as many of the classes as you can…" He looked Xander up and down "And see about eating more meat."

* * *

><p>The next day didn't start out so well. First, Amber was as normal as a high school cheerleader could be and two Amy ran home, probably on the verge of tears.<p>

"So being a three is bad?" Xander asked after looking at the postings.

"It means that she won't be on the team unless something happens to just about everyone else." Buffy explained looking a bit sad "She was so excited about being a cheerleader too."

"I think it has to more with her mom than anything else." Willow added her two sense between bites at her pen.

"She did say her mom was Head Cheerleader in high school. Guessing she's putting pressure on her?"

Willow snorted.

"That bad huh?"

"She gains an ounce her mom padlocks the fridge." Xander blinked, he knew Amy's mom was extreme but he had to really hope Willow was exaggerating with that.

"Ah, a Nazi Mom." She remembered quite a few of those from back in LA. All ways pushing their daughters to the point of impossible and nothing was ever good enough. Some of her friends had break downs over the dumbest things because of that.

Willow nodded her head in agreement "Heil."

Ahead of them and their conversation Cordelia Chase was making a scene of herself as she stumbled through the hall like she was drunk or blind. Her hands clumsily slid across the walls as she searched for her locker.

Buffy looked at her curiously "Is that even her locker?" she asked as the girl started to put her combination into a random locker.

Xander shrugged and Willow gave her an 'are you crazy' look.

"Right, you guys probably don't know." Cordelia turned the dial a few more times but eventually gave up and stormed away. "Guess it wasn't…" Buffy's voice grows suspicious "Xander, hold this for a second, I'll be back."

Xander stumbled slightly at the books were roughly shoved into his chest. Trying to forget the momentary show of weakness Xander narrowed his eyes as Buffy went after the cheerleader. Something was up or Buffy assumed something was up… should he follow? Should he stay?

For a moment he mulled over the choices but eventually his feet started to move.

"Xander?" Willow called out as he moved, confused at what her friend was doing "Where are you going?"

"Following. Something's up." He answered simply as she started increase her own pace to keep up with. She didn't look like she was so sure something was up but followed him anyway.

"Okay, I'll admit Buffy just acted weird but why do you think something is up?"

"Because she ran after Cordelia who was acting weird."

"And that automatically means something's wrong?" Willow asked as she pulled on his arm so he would slow down and talk to her.

"I don't know that's why I'm trying to follow." He tried to move again but Willow stepped in front of him.

"Xander I think we need to talk." She had been worrying about him since Jesse's death but she had been too busy with her own problems to help him deal with his. Now, while not fully there, she was good enough to help him get through what he was going through.

Xander had to physically restrain himself from yelling at the girl. He was not going to freeze up again. He was going to help. "Willow can we do this later?"

Red hair swayed as she shook her head with a negative "No." She said firmly "We need to talk."

Great, she was going to start with her psycho babble now. He so did not need that."Willow..." the sound of tires screeching stopped him from making any further comment. This time Xander didn't freeze, he ran towards the source of panic the only variable in his pace was someone screaming about not being able to see.

By the time he made it to the scene Buffy was holding a crying Cordelia.

* * *

><p>"Witchcraft. Blinding your enemy to disorient and disable them is, it's classic!" Xander didn't know what was worse, that there were actually witches out there or Giles seemed nostalgic.<p>

Doing his best not to feel freaked out by Giles, Xander tried to push them onto the issue "So is there any way to tell if someone is a witch? Green skin, constantly twitching their nose, some warts maybe?"

Giles shook his head, whether to take himself out of his memories or give a negative to Xander's line of questions was anyone's guess. "No, most practitioners look just everyone else, despite some... eccentricities." magic users had a tendency to be just plain strange "No, what we need to think of is who or why would want to hurt Cordelia?"

"Maybe they've met her?" Everyone looked at Willow and despite himself Xander let out a few snickers "And I said that out loud."

Giles let out a sigh and decided to add more to their profile "And would want to set Amber ablaze."

Xander tilted his head in thought "From what I've heard the two of them don't really run in the same circles."

"They're both cheerleaders." Buffy pointed out for them making the rest of the room to concede to her point that may be the connection, despite what the eldest male thought of it.

"Somebody that doesn't like cheerleading?" Giles hazard a guess.

Buffy's face scrunched up in thought "Or likes it too much."

Willow seemed to know where she was going as her eyes light up in recognition "Amy!"

With a solemn nod Buffy agreed "Amy."

"I'm going to guess we're leaning towards Amy?" Xander asked

Again Buffy nodded "She was desperate to get on the team and I think that she would do just about anything to make her mother's dream come true."

"Uh, let me make sure I have this right. This witch is casting horrible and disfiguring spells so that she can become a cheerleader?" Such a ludicrous thought seemed to stun the librarian.

"I think you're underestimating the amount of pressure a parent can lay on you. If you're not a picture perfect carbon copy they tend to wig."

Seeing that Giles still didn't understand Willow added in her own two cents "Cheerleading was kind of her mom's last hurrah."

Xander slid off his seat on the counter are he voiced his opinion "Look, we still have to stop Amy. We should grab her and..." Giles cut him off, immediately seeing a flaw with Xander's line of thought.

"I think we should be sure she's the witch before we arouse her suspicions. She's, she's capable of some fairly unpleasant things." Xander pouted at being denied but nodded as he saw Giles point.

Buffy hummed in thought "Alright. So, you're a teenage girl and you're desperate to make the team and please your mom so you turn to WItchcraft. What's the first thing you're gonna do?"

"Check out the books on witchcraft!" Willow cheered as an idea popped in her head and once Buffy nodded her head in agreement she made her way over to the computer to check the recent check outs. In the mean time Xander turned his attention to the only other male in the room.

"We have books like that here?"

"Well, I keep the more dangerous tomes in the book cage but yes, yes we do." Giles said absently as he went to said area and started to strum along the spines of several books looking for a particular volume that may be useful, completely unaware of the gears that started to turn in his young companion's mind. "Hmmm, ah, this should do it."

As Giles flipped through his own book Buffy and Willow looked at scrolling screen for any mentions of books on Witchcraft being checked out. In the mean time Xander found himself doing a whole lot of nothing so he decided to find something to keep himself busy. He couldn't think of much he could do to help so he sat down at the table and removed Giles "required reading" from his back pack.

He hated to say it but it was actually interesting. It was basically a fast facts encyclopedia to a number of demonic races, which one's ate humans, which were just a nuisance, and so on. Disappointingly there was little mention on how to kill them but he'd make do for now.

While reading the summary of the Ammit demon, a nasty piece of work from Egypt, when Giles let out a surprising "AH!" sound as he found what he was looking for. Needless to say he received many squawks and shrieks of three very surprised teenagers. "Uh, yes, sorry." Giles said as he received glares of indignation before he moved on to what caused his outburst "I've found a potion that may help us."

The potion required skin contact, which would be difficult, but the ingredients were fairly easy to get since, as Willow pointed out, they could be found in their science lab. If Amy had cast a spell in the last two days they would know soon enough. One thing did set him off though.

"Seriously? Eye of newt?"

* * *

><p>It was almost sad how easy it was for them to get into chem lab. All they had to do was have Willow ask to try an experiment and being every teacher's darling she managed to get the key to the room and closet. It didn't hurt that Willow was the model student. Or that she wasn't technically lying when she said she wanted to try something, or they would have had a babble-a-thon. Willow couldn't lie to save her life.<p>

The only hitch they had so far was obtaining a hair from Amy but Buffy solved that by 'helping' her with her hair.

After giving their concoction a final stir Willow gave a nod of self approval "Done!" She said happily. She always liked doing something new and looked forward to see her first potion at work. "All we need to do now is pour it on Amy..." her voice trailed off realizing how awkward and possibly psycho her statement sounded. But it seemed Buffy could ignore that as she poured the water out of her bottle and filled the now empty plastic container with the potion.

"Okay, I'll be back in a minute. Wish me luck." While she left her two new friends in the classroom to clean up Buffy swerved through the halls of the school in search of their would be witch. It wasn't that hard as she spent most her time in the gym trying to get the routines right. Buffy ran up as if to meet her but feigned a stumble, allowing their potion to soar through the air and splash all over the practicing girl.

"Oh god! I'm so sorry!" Amy had her eyes closed in understandable frustration so she didn't see the clear liquid turn blue upon contact with her skin. But Buffy noticed, and so did half the room but they were more interested in laughing at the girl's expense.

"Its fine." She managed to ground out as she wiped the liquid off her arms and shirt. As the smell of the concoction hit her nose she could make out the distinctive scent of boiled eye of newt. Summers just tossed a potion at her? What was it and what did it do? She had to go home to see. "Bye." she said curtly before grabbing her bag and making a quick b-line home.

Buffy wanted to follow her but Giles said she might have something up her sleeve and seeing what she did to Amber and Cordelia. Why couldn't all her enemies just be vampires, that would make everything so much easier. Anyway, she better report to Giles that they found their Sabrina.

* * *

><p>"Come on new kid, faster! Turn your foot when you punch! No!" Again the instructor stopped him from his instructed combo to correct his posture and punches. Xander didn't mind though. He needed to learn. If anything he was pissed at himself for continuing to mess up.<p>

Take a light step forward for a stronger jab, don't extend your arm all the way or risk damaging your elbow, twist your back foot and turn your hips with a straight, never drop your hands, always bring your guard back up before the next blow. There were dozens of simple rules that his body just couldn't seem to follow as his fist met the bag.

Xander was never really one to work out, the most he really got was practicing tricks on his skate board. So an hour and a half of an intense, at least what he saw as intense, work out his body felt like it was on fire and his shoulders sore. He couldn't even do that whole bouncing on his feet thing that they wanted him to do, which got him the stink eye.

He was trying but it was his first day, not that it was an excuse in his mind but his body disagreed.

By the end of the class he had soaked his shirt in sweat and was finding it hard to breathe. Somehow this state got him a slap on the back from the instructor along with a 'good job'. "You did good for your first time kid. Keep it up and you actually might be good in a year or two."

Xander gave him an appreciative 'thanks' but he soon found his teeth clenching. He knew it would take time to get better but a year? Would it take that long before he could help? Before he could make a difference? He kept trying to remind himself how long it took the 'normals' of DC and Marvel to get where they were. It took over a decade of focused training in various disciplines and teachings to make Batman, it took being stranded on a island for months on end to make Green Arrow and it took a god damned war to make the Punisher.

He could wait, he would have to wait, he had to prepare.

So with that mindset he walked home in the dwindling weekday sunlight. Eventually his thought slipped in what he could do and eventually he came upon a strange line of thinking. Look at how much damage Amy was doing and she couldn't have had that much training in magic yet. Probably no more than a few months, that was how long since she started getting home schooled. Sure she wasted it on such a petty thing but if he could do a quarter of what she'd shown...

What if he picked it up too? Could he shorten that time gap? Could he make a difference sooner?

It would be a good replacement for a utility belt.

* * *

><p>The next morning he tried to wake up early to run, like he saw in the Rocky movies, but his body felt it was better to stay in bed. Not that he listened to it as he forced it move and actually managed to get a few blocks in the rising sun. He thought about waking up earlier, even if his body would protest, but like Giles said "It wasn't worth getting eaten over" or something like that.<p>

But after a shower and his walk to school he was starting to think that maybe he should have listened to his body's complaining. His shoulders still hurt from the day before and his legs had the combined punishment of his run and yesterday's lesson. So basically he was feeling ragged and a bit relieved he wasn't going to lessons that day. Though he knew he had to keep sharp, today was the day they were going to confront Amy. Giles told them to hold off on her for a night while he prepared counter measures to the library for when they hauled the girl in.

Hopefully not literally. He did use to be friends with the girl after all.

After storing some books and his board in his locker he went to find the girls. He found them but the scene wasn't what he expected because it seemed like Willow was trying to control a high Buffy.

"Oh! Oh! Look Willow! Its Xander!" The blonde girl started jumping up in down, lifting Willow off the ground once or twice as she tried to restrain the Slayer. Though through it the red head managed to give Xander a relieved look.

"Uh, what's going on?"

"Nothing, Everything's great! Well, except for the whole witchy thing but hey! I'm on the squad!"

Giving Buffy an odd look he turned his attention to Willow "Is she on something?" Sometimes he wondered if those comments were automatic or not.

Buffy let out an indignant yelp and a "What! I am not!" If people weren't looking before they sure as hell were now.

Willow did her best to calm down the... cheery girl as she explained what she knew "I don't know," which apparently wasn't much "She just came in all happy and bouncy and, and..." Willow had no idea what to do. Buffy was acting strange and was showing symptoms of various uppers drugs. She hadn't know the other girl long but knew enough about her to know that Buffy wasn't into that kind of stuff. So she had to wonder what was going on.

It didn't hit her till a second later, Buffy was on the squad now, she was a target. While her mind process the possibilities for their next step Xander's mind was catching up to hers with his conclusion. Buffy got hit by a magic whammy. After that thought he found a course of action of grabbing the blonde and guiding her to the library. "Hey... Where we going? Oh! We're visiting Giles! Watcho, Watcho man! He's gotta be a Watcho man!"

Buffy's impromptu singing rang through the library as they entered gaining the librarian's attention. "What's going on?" It only took a few moments of explaining and observing for the watcher to understand what was going on and his face seemed to slip as unfamiliar expressions showed on his face "A Bloodstone Vengeance curse." His accent, only for a moment, seemed to slip into something differently British before he took in a few breaths to calm himself "A, a rather nasty piece of magic. Hits the body like a quart of alcohol before moving on to e- eradicate the immune system."

Being of a logical mind and used to dealing with mundane problems Willow shouted her suggestion "We need to get her to the hospital!" But Giles shot down that suggestion. "Why not! They got anti-biotic and other medicines that could help!" Her mind thinking of maybe flushing Buffy's system for whatever Amy had introduced to the Slayer's system.

"Because this isn't chemical, at least not entirely." The librarian explained as his mind wrapped around different methods on how they could deal with their dilemma "This is magic, the hospital might just make things worse. As it stands we are al-already on time table."

"What time table?" Xander asked wearily.

The Watcher winced "V-vengeance spells never end well."

"Which means?" He pressed only for the Watcher to cough and look away.

"Truth please Giles." That was the most sober statement she'd made all day but it still sounded too cheery for how grim she had set her face.

Again he coughed but he answered in his roundabout way "The others she just wanted out of the way, you, she well..."

"Wants me dead."

"Well, yes."

"It's because I ruined her shirt with that potion thingy isn't it?" She actually seemed serious with that statement.

"No, I believe it has more to do with you knowing she is a witch." Giles said absently now, his mind going through tome after tome in his mind for which one might hold an answer. The problem was that damn time restraint they had. Buffy said had been feeling the effects of the spell she had woken up, which meant they had roughly eight hours give or take. The quickest way to resolve their problem would be to get their hands on Amy's spell book and see what variant of the spell she used. It would be a much quicker process than to find a counter spell but he dreaded walking into a Witch's workshop. Who knew what types of traps she had placed to protect her work.

Then again, she was young and inexperienced... it may be worth the risk. Still though, it was better to wrap his mind around his own tomes before trying that.

"Willow, Xander, keep an eye on Buffy. Come back here during your lunch break, h-hopefully I'll have something by then."

* * *

><p>The day was going by excruciatingly slow for the two teens as they watched over their friend, though Xander would admit it was rather entertaining. Even if Buffy kept on calling him a "Mr. Grumpy Pants". When he asked her why she said it was because he scowled half the time or just wasn't paying attention to them most of the time.<p>

But Buffy's high talk and attitude garnered the attention of the both the student body and the staff. Teachers looked at her strange and with each class she went to a note would find its way to Principal Flutie's desk. The cheerful man kept each one adding it to the girl's file. He wanted to give the girl a fresh start at his school, to ignore her... discrepancies but he couldn't help her if she wouldn't help herself. If she came in another day like this there would be a locker search. He would hold off on making a phone call home, give her a chance to correct herself.

Buffy's real trouble came in the form of the cheerleading captain Joy. Rumor had spread up to her and she did not like what she was hearing. With all the trouble she was having with her squad she really didn't need another problem. Joy didn't mind if her girls lit up every once in a while or went out for drinks but they had an image to maintain at school. She told Buffy this and went further to tell her that she was no longer welcomed on Joy's squad. The Slayer seemed to take the news well but Joy couldn't be sure as the girl seemed distracted someone passing by them said.

By the time lunch period came both Xander and Willow gratefully dragged a skipping Buffy to the library. "Giles, please tell me you found the cure."

"Unfortunately, Willow, I have not." almost to prove his point he slammed the book in front of him shut in frustration. They were running out of time. Soon Buffy's high would come to a screeching crash and her body would soon be fighting against every little bacteria and disease in the air. Being an American high school he gave a shudder of horror for what his charge would have to face. "I need to get my hands on that girl's spell book, that appears to be our best chance."

After helping Buffy into a chair Xander turned his full attention to Giles "And the other chances?"

Giles gave the boy a level stare. The boy seemed anxious to help, which was good but if he kept this mind set he was going to get himself hurt. Or worse. "The most prominent thought that comes to mind is killing the witch." He studied the boy's face as it twisted itself in thought.

Xander had to wonder to himself would he kill a friend, even one as misguided as Amy, to save another's life? A life belonging to a new friend, one with the power to protect others? A life Amy was putting in danger? He wanted to protect as many people as he could, he didn't want to kill Amy but if it came down to it he'd put a knife in her back personally.

But they had to do everything possible to prevent that choice. They had to save everyone they could, even if it was from themselves. So shaking his head to show his displeasure with the idea he asked "What do you need me to do"

"You keep an eye on Amy and keep her away from her home long enough for me to find the book... Hopefully her parents aren't home." Or have the damn thing booby trapped.

"Will do, Watcher guy!" Buffy said "She's going to be at cheer practice anyway, so she won't be home... whoa... everything is spinning." Her head started to loll from side to side as it tried to reorient itself.

Giles was instantly crossed the room the check on her. He cursed "We don't have much time. Three hours tops." He gently hauled Buffy to her feet "Hopefully we can use what she has there for a counter spell. If not keep the chem. lab open."

Willow shifted nervously as she realized that would be her responsibility. She thought Giles was over estimating her pull with the teachers but she would do her best. For Buffy she had to.

* * *

><p>He couldn't believe it. When a still woozy Buffy returned with Giles and what appeared to be Amy's mom he was expecting a few things. Chief among them was that Amy's mom was a uber witch that was pissed at her daughter for abusing her gifts. But he was unprepared for the whole body switch situation. Two weeks ago he wouldn't believe it but after seeing vampires and cheerleaders being set on fire he was a little more opened minded.<p>

But still for Amy's mom to steal her own child's body because she thought Amy was wasting her youth? Only one word for that type of person.

Bitch.

And she proved a bitch with a mean right hook as he tried to stop her from storming into the chem lab. Well it was her daughter's right hook but it still hurt like a bitch. Not that it stopped him from grabbing her into a sloppy full nelson. She struggled and struggled, kicking violently at his waist. He had no doubt what she was aiming for and he so wasn't giving her a chance to hit it.

Eventually she stopped struggling and her head awkwardly turned in his grip. "Um, what's going on?"

"Amy?" He asked cautiously. This could be a trick and he wasn't going to be a butt monkey for falling for it.

The girl struggled lightly in his grip "Yeah... Am, am I in my body again?" she asked hopefully before looking down at herself, an unseen smile spreading across her face "Yes!" she cheered briefly before she noticed Xander was still holding onto her "Uh, can you let go of me?"

"No offense but you have a mean punch and I rather find out if you're telling the truth before getting hit again." His proof came a moment later as the aloud curse came out of the lab along with a crashing sound "Never mind." he said as he dropped her and rushed towards the door.

He was not going to freeze again when his friends need help.

Unfortunately the door was locked. Shit, he forgot they locked it. Next time he volunteered to guard a door he was taking the damn key. Desperate he started to slam his sore shoulder into the door again and again.

School doors were sturdier than he thought.

Giving his now probably bruised arm a break he looked into the lab to see Buffy anxiously looking around the room while Amy's mother charged up what appeared to be a ball of lightning. 'Shit' he thought to himself as he renewed his assault on the door. He was not going to fail another friend.

But appeared he wouldn't have to worry about that as Buffy kicked the support for the over head mirror causing it to fall down and reflect the spell right back at the witch. Amy's mother let out a scream as the energy wrapped around, condensing itself around her until with a roar of power she disappeared.

Buffy seemed to survey the scene for a moment before bending down and shaking something on the floor soon Giles rose rubbing his head from grogginess and pain. So instead of slamming on the door Xander lightly tapped on the window. Seeing him in the door way Buffy opened the door for both him and Amy to enter.

"So... that's it?"

"It would seem so." Giles answered him, still in a daze.

"You guys alright?"

Amy gave a beaming smile "I'm me!"

Xander shrugged with a wince "Shoulder hurts but I'll live."

"I'm a little more concerned about you," The Watcher admitted "It was my first time casting that spell, so..." he took in a breath as if he was nervous or ashamed to admit his next statement "I was worried I may have gotten it wrong."

The girl's were quick to reassure him that they were fine while Xander found himself at a loss for what to say. He couldn't really say 'you did good' to him. It would just sound weird. So he just said nothing until the red whirlwind known as Willow rushed into the room.

"Are you guys oooooo," She started before he eyes landed on Amy. Her hand rose and pointed at the blonde "You, you, meanie!"

"Uh, Wills. Everything's cool now." Xander said attempting to calm the girl down.

"She threw me into the lockers!" the boy couldn't help it, he knew it wasn't Amy's fault but that body of hers still hurt his little sister. So she received a powerful glare that made her shift where she stood.

Amy looked around sheepishly before saying "Uh, sorry?"

Buffy stepped between the girl and Xander's glare "We all remember it wasn't Amy right, crazy mom, remember?"

He tried to lessen the glare but it just wouldn't leave his face "Right..." He worked his jaw till it was unclenched "Right, sorry."

The way he said it didn't put Amy at ease but a certain red heads crush seemed to magnify just the slightest bit.

* * *

><p>Xander found himself ringing the door bell to an unfamiliar door an hour before his lesson with Giles. He had been debating the choice he was about to make since Mrs. Madison's death and this was his best chance.<p>

The door opened "Hey Mr. Madison, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

He needed his utility belt.

**AN:**

**Ah the pains Xander is going to go through.**

**Anyway, I'll reveal who Xander is going to be like next chapter. So if you like the guessing game here is your last chance.**

**I'm also thinking of changing the crossover into anime because the rest of the crossovers don't' happen till after Halloween with maybe a few minor ones in-between now and then.**

**Oh and as always, tell me what you think**


	4. Chapter 4

**The magic of this story is a mix of both Buffyverse and Nasuverse, with a few buffers made by me (and a few video games) so they fit. Type Moon fans feel free to add suggestions.**

**Chapter four: Pain**

Tony Harris woke up to a sound of rustling in the living room. Jessica was still sleeping next to him so it wasn't her making the noise. Maybe it was Alexander, though he doubted it. The sun was barely up and despite his trying, Tony's boy was never an early riser.

So that possibility out of his mind Tony grabbed his old baseball bat and started to limp out of his bedroom door. He hated how it hurt to take a step, he hated how the burned skin was still tight and twisted over his muscles. He hated that he could no longer do his dream job.

God, he needed a drink.

He tried to creep into the room as silently but the constant thump from his hurt leg damaged his endeavor. Not that it seemed to matter to the room's occupant. He didn't even turn as Tony entered the room.

"65... ech,66..."

Tony wasn't sure he believed his eyes. His son was up at the crack of dawn doing sit ups on the living room floor. It was a hard thought to follow.

Lowering the bat he called for his son's attention "Alex?" The boy seemed to ignore him for a moment as he struggled to do another sit up. He tried again a bit louder, still minding his volume because of Jess "Alex." With the second call his son came out of his forced trance at 72 and turned to look at his father.

"Oh, uh, hey dad." Xander's stomach burned as he angled himself to see his father "You're up early."

"Heard a noise." He grunted out as he limped a little more into the room "What are you doing?"

Xander adjusted himself and stood, his stomach burning from his interrupted exercise, to face his father "Sit ups." He responded with a slight grunt "I've been trying to get in shape lately."

"Why?" the elder Harris asked.

Xander opened his mouth for a moment, then closed. Why was he working out? So he could kill the monsters Tony told him weren't real. But what would that answer get him? Nothing but trouble that's what. Probably a smack in the back of the head at best, at worse, having medication shoved down his throat and tossed into a padded room. He didn't like lying but he had become a master of half truths over his homework and class skipping career "I just don't want to get pushed around anymore."

What, it was true.

Tony gave a grunt and nod as he understood where his son was coming from if only a little. He was never one that people would try to mess with. "Keep it down than. Your mother's still sleeping." and his brain was having a sparring match with his skull.

"Alright. I was about to leave for a run anyway." Again Tony grunted as he limped into the kitchen to get a bit of the hair of the dog. But as he entered the doorway to the kitchen he stopped. It took a minute for him to make his scared jaw move.

"Maybe... this weekend, we could make some space in the basement for you to..." He gestured to the area Xander was laying in previously "do whatever."

Xander's face seemed to perk up with excitement for a moment but it started to slack quickly a second later. "Sure dad." Xander said as cheerfully as he could manage. "That sounds great." He long ago realized that such promises from his father meant little to nothing anymore. Before his accident he was the most dependable person you could imagine but now... it was all faux promises.

Sour thoughts of his fallen hero followed him throughout his run, from putting on his shoes to returning home.

* * *

><p>He had tried to run his sour and quickly angering thoughts out, which proved to be good fuel, but soon found himself running late. As in 'I don't have time for a shower' late. To cover his smell he rolled a heavy dose of deodorant to his armpits and even gave a liberal dose to his chest. He could only pray that would help him as he rushed to school barely in time for homeroom.<p>

Homeroom went by with a blur, the only solid moment he could scantly remember was greeting some acquaintances. He was letting his mind wander onto his self imposed training. His first real problem was that his boxing class trail was running out fast. While he liked it there and his at a minimum two hour stay there made him a near fixture at that point he just couldn't afford the place. He was pretty sure he 'knew' the basics of the style, boxing was a fairly simple martial art when compared to others but it took more than two weeks to Know it. Still he could probably close the gap in the few weeks he had left. He was never going to be a master of any of the martial arts that he learned through these trials but maybe he could do a Batman? Take snippets from what he learned and build his own style from it.

With that thought in mind he already chose the next martial art to learn, Aikido.

His thoughts went through the new routines he was setting himself up with as he went to his next class and automatically took his seat next to Willow. During his lunch period he'd head to the library and talk with Giles, switch out his mandatory reading and see if their group was going to meet after school. Depending on that he may try to squeeze some target practice in before heading off to his boxing trial. After that, drop by Willow's to check up on her and see what her and Buffy's plans were for the night. And to top it off he'd head home and work on those magic books Mr. Madison was oh so happy to get rid of.

Magic was actually an interesting subject, at least how it was being described to him in the tome he was reading at the moment. It described magic as a way to bring miracles into the world, to make the impossible possible. To enforce your image upon the world... did Willow just sniff him?

"B.O.?" He heard Buffy asked from her spot next to him. Immediately he pulled the collar of his shirt out and took a whiff as the rest of the class let out a laugh. The deodorant was not helping.

"I'm glad someone said it!" someone yelled from the back making Xander realize how bad it was. Embarrassing but not earth shattering so.

Dr. Gregory, their science teacher, let out a sigh. "That is 'touch' and 'smell' Ms. Summers, that's how ants communicate." Wait... since when were they on bugs? "Now is there anything else Ms. Rosenberg would like to tell you or can I move on?" In the comer of his eye Xander could see Willow sinking into her seat trying to disappear.

It was pretty funny, all things considered.

The teacher rambled on for a few more minutes about ants and their work ethic. It was kind of interesting, how a group of little guys scared the shit out of the big guys by being an overwhelming force that worked together to reach a goal. Even their predators were wary of them. Why couldn't human's be like that to demons? They probably used to be before they all became docile, domesticated, blind. Like an old wolves that got a little too comfortable in a human's home.

Someone had to bare their teeth. Remind the predators what type of beastie they were hunting.

Eventually the bell rang, a magical sound that many students have come to love, taking nearly all the class from the room with in a second of its sound. Only Buffy stayed behind as Dr. Gregory asked her to stay. He felt bad for her but as the saying goes, better her than him.

* * *

><p>The girls asked him if he wanted to go to the Bronze but he excused himself. He would have gone, honestly he would have but for two things. One, he was strapped for money. The allowance he did get from his parents did not allow for daily trips to the local club. The second reason... he wanted to practice.<p>

Magic while interesting was more difficult than he thought. It wasn't a wave of your hand and, boom!, something happens. First you needed something to power whatever you're trying to do. What could be used for fuel came in two flavors, a source that came from the inside or drawn in from the environment. While the later seemed to be the easier and quicker method he was a little hesitant to draw power from his environment, especially considering his environment was the gateway to hell.

Besides that a man has to rely on himself to get the job done.

But there were a few problems with using the inner power source. The major one is the pain. To be able to use your inner source of power you had to "build" a passage way, or a magic being, for the energy to find its way out. It was comparable to having a red hot steel pike shoved down his spine. He was lucky his mom was still at work and his father was in a drunken slumber when he tried making them for the first time. He never screamed so hard in his life... he was actually surprised none of his family's neighbors heard or reported it.

Or they did and were too scared to report it... not a very encouraging thought.

Pushing those thoughts aside Xander prepared himself for his latest practice session. He sat on the floor, as learned on his attempt that sitting in a chair could lead to him falling out of it in pain, and bit down onto a folded pillow case. He got better every time he practiced, every time he touched his magic it got just a little bit easier to reach. It still hurt from heaven to hell though.

He tried to restrain an involuntary grunt as he found his center and let himself "touch" his magic. It was surprising how easy it was to find the "Heart" of his magic, the book said that it was always there waiting for a person to reach out for it, but still. Shakily he let out a breath from his nose as he prepared himself for what was about to come.

Why did finding the magic have to feel like a warm blanket but using it felt like you were being burned alive? Was it God's poetic justice or something?

A pained gasp seeped through the cloth as a heated sensation rammed its way through Xander's body. His vision started to spin and waiver as a new "vein" started to build itself, weaving its way through his body, slowly burning from his chest down his arms and back again to reach his legs. His teeth dug deeper and deeper into the cloth as the pain spread through him.

He kept telling himself "just a little bit more, last a little bit longer" over and over again. Just a little more, just so he could complete the circle or the 'Circuit". Through the limbs and head it went before returning to his chest with an almost static shock like sensation as it finally made it to its destination, completing the loop.

His jaw slacked, allowing the cloth to fall from his mouth, as he took in mouthful after mouthful of air. The pain started to ebb away just a little bit more with each breath.

It hurt so bad and he hadn't even learned his first spell yet. He needed to go through that painful process a few more times before he had sufficient enough strength to complete a spell.

He'd do it but he was starting to wonder if it was worth it.

* * *

><p>Dr. Gregory was absent, it wasn't that big of a deal to Xander but Buffy seemed to think it was the end of the world. Willow explained it was because he was one of the few teachers that didn't think she was some maniac that was about to set fire to the school. He and Willow said they would help her look after school.<p>

But the teachers disappearance went nearly unnoticed as the substitute teacher entered the class room. Just about every male's jaw dropped as she swayed, the sound of her clicking heels just adding to the fantasy of Hot Teacher. "My name is Natalie French, and I will be substituting for Dr. Gregory." Her voice smoked out as she introduced herself and making every male sit at the edge of their seat in anticipation for the next sentence.

Well all but Xander, he found her attractive, definitely so but not attractive enough to distract him from his training thoughts. The current line of thought revolved around what spell he was going to attempt first at magic. He didn't want to do anything big, something nice and simple to start with.

"Do you know when he's going to get back?" Buffy asked near immediately after the substitutes introduction.

"No I do not...um, " Her dainty fingers skimmed along her roster till she found a seat and name "Buffy. They just call me in and tell me where to go."

A few seats over half the class could hear Blayne say "I'll tell you where I want you."

And apparently the substitute heard too "What was that..." Her slim finger trailed the list again "Blayne?"

The class snickered as the boy stuttered to find a response " Uh, I was just wondering if you were gonna pick up where Dr. Gregory left off." someone in the back of him mumbled "good save."

Ms. French gave a smile, not letting on if she heard his first statement or not, as she placed her papers on the table " Yes. His notes tell me you were right in the middle of insect life." She picked up a mounted praying mantis encased in a glass box " The praying mantis is a fascinating creature." She held a certain admiring tone as she spoke "Forced to live alone. Who can tell me why?" Her eyes searched the room before landing on a name she knew "Buffy?"

"The words "bug-Ugly" spring to mind."

The room filled with muffled laughs while the teacher forced a smile and shook her head as she place the box back in its display "There is nothing ugly about these unique creatures. The reason they live alone is because they're cannibals!" The room filled with ews and looks of disgust. Xander, even with his half listening ear, sat up a bit straighter and contorted his face in disgust. Seeing the reactions she quickly went on with her explanation " Oh, well, it's hardly their fault! It's the way nature designed them: noble, solitary and prolific. Over 1800 species worldwide, and in nearly all of them the female is larger and more aggressive than the male."

"Nothing wrong with an aggressive female" Buffy tilted her head to give Blayne a look.

Ms. French grabbed her note book and started to walk in front of the room " The California Mantis lays her eggs, and then finds a mate..." Her gaze slid across the room before landing on Xander and tried to make eye contact " ...to fertilize them." They way she said it made him, and every other male, squirm in their seats "Once he's played his part, she covers the eggs in a protective sack and attaches it to a leaf or twig out of danger. Now, if she's done her job correctly, in a few months she'll have several hundred offspring."

She broke their eye contact as she walked back up to the front of the room and seemingly out of nowhere an idea came to her " You know, we should make some model egg sacks for the science fair. Who would like to help me do that after school?" A pleased look spread across her face as she witnessed near every boy raised his hand "Good." Her smile seemed to trail off as she noticed one of the boys hadn't raised his hand.

She didn't know that he wanted to, he really wanted to but his mind weighed his options. Hang around an extremely hot teacher or train to protect his sister, train to enact his vengeance.

Hot teacher, vengeance.

Vengeance, hot teacher.

Vengeance eventually won out.

* * *

><p>That day he saw his first dead body.<p>

It was a gruesome sight. A headless body shoved into the cafeteria's refrigerator like clothes hung out to dry, his white lab coat stained a dark ruby red with dried and cooling blood. To make the image all the worse was that he actually knew the body, the stitching on the coat made the identification easy enough.

Dr. Gregory.

He wanted to just walk away and puke in the nearest trash can but he forced himself to stay as he drew Willow into a hug so she didn't have to see the body of their former science teacher. He and Buffy stared at the dead body as Willow broke into her first round of sobs.

A short time later the three of them found themselves in the library. Both girls were sitting on the stairs with dried tears staining their face, both staring aimlessly in front of them while Giles went to get them a drink. Xander was leaning against the library counter unsure what to do with himself as he waited for the nauseous feeling in his stomach to abate.

Weak, weak, weak! He shouldn't feel like that! He needed to be stronger, for Willow, for Jesse. He couldn't just puke every time he saw a dead body. He knew, deep down in his self loathing thoughts, that there wasn't much or anything he could do at the time. That he acted reasonably but that didn't stop him from berating himself.

His inner monologue was disrupted when Giles came back into the room with two cups of water in his hand that he gave to the girls. Giles had offered to get Xander a drink as well but the boy refused.

"Here, drink this." he said gently as he handed the two girls their cups of water.

"Thank you," Buffy mumbled as she took the first sip of her water and focused her attention on the cup.

Willow took a shaky breath as she restrained a new series sobs "Who would want to hurt Dr. Gregory?"

Giles let out a sigh as he controlled his own emotions "Uh, he didn't have any enemies on the staff that I'm aware of. He was a civilized man. I liked him."

"So did I." Buffy said in a depressed tone.

Willow started to regroup herself as she forced herself to stare Giles in the face and steady her voice enough to say "Well, we're gonna find out who did this. We'll find them and we'll stop them." Xander gave a proud nod at Willow's statement.

Buffy seemed to agree with that statement "Count on it."

Giles nodded his head as he resigned himself "What do we know?"

"Not a lot, um..." Buffy wiped her nose after another sniffle "He was killed here on campus. I'm guessing the last day we saw him."

"How could you possibly work that out?"

She looked at him with an attempted deadpanned look "He didn't have a chance to change his clothes."

"Ah."

"Here's a question no one really wants to think about," Xander said joining the conversation to add his own two cents "What did whatever do with his head?"

Willow started to look a little green again "You're right, I didn't want to think about that."

Something seemed to click in Buffy's head as she was on her feet in a half seconds notice "Angel!" she exclaimed as she started to walk towards the center table where the two males were standing "He warned me something was coming."

Giles nodded his head "Yes. Yes he did, didn't he? I wish I knew what he meant. I've been trying to gather more information about the Master, our, uh, local vampire king. There was one oblique reference to a, a, a vampire who displeased the Master and cut his hand off in penance."

"So he cuts off his hand and replaced it with a fork?"

"I don't know what he replaced it with"

"So, why would he come after a teacher?" Xander asked trying to get to the point.

"I'm not certain he did. There was an incident two nights ago..." Giles reached over the counter to retrieve the newspaper he was reading earlier " ...uh, involving a homeless person in Weatherly Park. He was practically shredded, but, uh, nothing like Dr. Gregory." The librarian soon found his personal space invaded by the small group teenagers as they tried to get a better look at the article.

"So, fork guy doesn't do heads" Buffy asked as she peered over Giles shoulder.

"Not historically."

"And Dr. Gregory's blood wasn't drained..." Buffy added on almost as an afterthought but it helped connect the dots for everyone in the room.

"So there's something else out there? Besides Silverware-man? Great, this town is like a glorified roach motel. Everyone comes but nobody leaves." Demons were liking fucking insects. Swarming into the human population in various shapes in forms to do them harm. Sickening pieces of shit.

Buffy shrugged "We're on a Hellmouth. It's a center of mystical convergence. Guess it's kind of the same thing"

"Well, unpleasant things do gravitate here, it's true, but, uh, we don't know there's anything besides this chap. He's still our likely suspect." Giles said as he rubbed his eyes, thinking of a plan of action to take. There was little chance that whatever killed the good doctor was this... fork wielding assassin but it was their best lead at the moment. But to go in half cocked and only expecting at best a pitch fork wielding vampire could get his Slayer killed.

"Where was that guy killed? Weatherly Park?" Buffy asked as she snagged the paper from Giles hand and started to read over the article again.

Giles paused in his pondering as he stared at the young blonde as his mind instantly knew what his charge was thinking "Buffy," He said, his voice steadying out as he tried to find a forceful tone "I know you're upset, but, uh, this is no time to go hunting, not until we know more. Please promise me you won't do anything rash?"

Buffy nodded her head and traced an X pattern over her heart "Cross my heart."

Willow almost rolled her eyes and Xander suffocated a snort.

After a little over a month of knowing the girl they knew she was going to ignore the Watcher and go to Weatherly Park anyway.

* * *

><p>Before Xander could even make it to his last period class Mr. Flutie cornered him and told him plainly that he needed to see the school councilor. He tried to argue against it but the enthusiastic principle had worn him down and forced him into a seat in front of the councilor's office.<p>

He shifted in the uncomfortable plastic chair for a few minutes until the door finally open to reveal an elderly man with peppered grey hair and a pressed dress shirt "Ah! Xander! Come in, come in!"

Mr. Flutie always tried to hire the best he could, teachers and workers that were dedicated to the student body. People who actually enjoyed their job on some level. And Dr. Patterson who threw himself into his work enthusiastically. Xander had only seen once, he seemed to want to meet every student at least once, and he wasn't really looking forward to another visit.

Dr. Patterson was nice but creepy nice.

The councilor gestured to one of the two big fluffy chairs angled in front of his desk "Take a seat."

Xander took it uncomfortably and adjusted himself as he sank into the cushions. The councilor took the seat behind his desk and perched his chin upon his raised hands. They sat in silence for a minute before the doctor started a conversation "Truth be told I've been wanting to pull you and Willow aside for a while now Xander." It was weird for an adult he rarely ever seen use his nickname so casually. Most teachers just called him Harris, with or without the Mr. part.

"Why?"

"Your friend Jesse of course" The man said matter-of-factly, causing Xander to sit up straighter in his chair. "After he stopped showing up to school and then reported missing a number of your teacher noticed a change in your behavior."

Xander gritted his teeth at the casual way he treated his brother's... disappearance. In this town, even if you didn't know the truth, it should be pretty damn obvious what happened.

No one was ever going to see Jesse again.

"So? What of it?" He wasn't usually so... rude... okay he was but in a more 'in your face' snarky kind of way not something so abrupt.

"People worry Xander." The man said easily enough, his eyes shifting as he took in the boy's facial and body expressions "And people notice things. Like a student coming in like he just went through a title match, or what little attention he was paying attention in class had completely disappeared."

So what if he wasn't paying attention in class? He was there wasn't he and he actually did the homework now so why were teachers making such a fuss? God, when was this over?

Dr. Patterson kept his gaze on Xander as he waited for any response from the boy. After a few seconds of silence he pressed on trying to get the boy to unleash a word or sentence "I understand you and Willow were close to Jesse so it's understandable if you're upset that he left." He noted the clenching in the boy's jaw. Xander was angry, whether it was at him or Jesse he wasn't really sure but he had a feeling that he should change the subject soon. His job was to get the kids talking not to get punched by them. So tapping his fingers against his resting chin he moved on "I feel that we rushed into this a bit too fast, how about we start with something simple?"

In the silence that the councilor gave him to make an answer Xander rolled his eyes and started to tap his foot impatiently. "Let's start with what your parents do for a living."

Xander shrugged "Mom is an assistant manager at the local supermarket and dad was a fire fighter."

"Was?" Patterson pressed

"There was an accident on the job," Xander's voice strained as he vividly recalled the day he first visited his father at the hospital. He was covered in bandages and a simple gesture sent surges of pain through the man's body "He couldn't do it anymore."

"Have you given any thought to what you want to do after high school?"

If he lived that long he planned on doing his patriotic duty of killing every last vampire in town, "No, not really"

The councilor hummed as he realized that this line of question quickly died and ended. This boy was more difficult to get talking than he thought. From teacher comments he was expecting his to dodge every other question with some sort of joke not outright denying to elaborate like he was doing.

He figured an open ended and often clichéd question would be best for now. Besides it was the reason Flutie was throwing so many children into his office today. "How about today, during lunch, have you given any thought to that?"

Xander blinked at the sudden change of questioning "I try not to." he lied, "Kind of makes a guy want to puke."

"While that is understandable it is not wise to just ignore something like that. It can haunt you."

Like Xander didn't already know that but he wasn't ignoring anything. Dwelling would be a better word. He was dwelling on the fact that he couldn't save a good man, even if he knew there was nothing he could do Dr. Gregory became a symbol in his mind. Every time he thought of failure now he would see a headless body. It was like an exclamation point to Jesse's death, that there were more people out there other than just Willow that needed to be protected, to be helped, to be saved.

Xander and Patterson talked in circles and dead ends for a few minutes more before the councilor decided he got all he could from Xander and let him go. The boy was very reluctant to open up, he could talk to Flutie about giving Xander more passes to his office but if a student didn't want to talk there was little he could do. The biology teacher's death was obviously affecting the boy more than he was letting on but he just wouldn't elaborate on anything enough for him to get a feel.

* * *

><p>The next day Xander felt worse than usual. The aching in his shoulder and calves from his boxing class were partnered with the burning sensation that seeped into his bones from another magical vein being built. It felt like he was a worn piece of leather that got tossed in the microwave for a few minutes. The fact he still went through his new morning routine didn't help him at all.<p>

"Are you okay Xander?" And apparently it showed more than he liked. Turning slightly he saw Willow walking down the hallway towards him.

"Yeah, I'm fine Wills. Just not enough sleep is all." He gave her a smile he hoped was reassuring . Thankfully she gave a nod of understanding.

"Yeah, I didn't sleep that well either." Her body gave an involuntary shiver as a memory swiped pass her mind "I just couldn't stop thinking about yesterday, poor Dr. Gregory." Xander moved his stiff shoulder to give her his usual one armed hug.

"Shhh, it's okay." He said as he tried to comfort the girl once again. He stayed over at her house for a few hours the night prior but it seemed she needed more than a good cry and some cartoons to get over this. Xander seemed to take everything in the form of anger and grief lately but Willow didn't feel either emotion. Just a lot of tear jerking sadness. "C'mon, let's head to the library and hang there for a little bit, 'kay?"

Willow gave a nod as she snuggled into his side. Xander saw nothing wrong with that and didn't realize he just kept on fueling the red heads crush with his "brotherly" actions.

* * *

><p>Xander started to wonder if some of the super powers that came with Slayer package came with luck and improbable deduction skills because Buffy seemed to fit everything together rather easily and quickly. He got the whole "Ms. French isn't human because she twisted her head like the exorcist chick" but he still didn't get the jump from that to giant shape shifting mantis. Couldn't she be some sort of demon or a giant shape-shifting owl?<p>

But Giles seemed to rolling with the idea easy enough and was currently trying to get in contact with some insane guy from England. He mumbled something about the transatlantic cost and how he was going to get chewed out by the school, which was actually kind of funny.

Through despite the mild amusement he received from Giles' exchange he once again felt useless as everyone seemed to find a job for themselves to do. Just not him as he flipped through a bug book Buffy had tossed aside. Giles was speaking with his contact, Willow was looking up info on the computer and Buffy was tarring through bug section with a fever as she thought of a plan of action.

The sound of Willow's PC beeping dragged what little attention he gave the book to her "Uh, Guys! 911! Blayne's mom called the school. He never came home last night."

"Wasn't he bragging about getting some alone time with Ms. French yesterday?" Xander asked, vaguely recalling a brief conversation with the guy the day before. Something about the survival of the fittest and something about Ms. French. He didn't really know, he'd just wanted to get out of the school and mostly ignored him.

"Yeah! If Ms. French is responsible..." the girl started to go green as she remembered the facts Buffy laid out for them about praying mantis and the fate of the biology teacher "EW! She's going to eat his head!"

Buffy placed a hand on the girl's shoulder to calm her down before Xander could leave his seat to do the same "It's okay, don't panic. We'll save him." While she sounded convinced Xander wasn't so sure their class mate would be alive when they got wherever he was being held. "But for right now I need you to hack onto the coroner's office for me."

Willow bit her lip unsurely as she faced the computer screen again "Okay... what are we looking for?"

"Autopsy on Dr. Gregory. I've been trying to figure out these marks that I saw on his corpse... I'm thinking they were teeth. And, uh, these cuddlies" She pointed to a picture in the book she brought over that gave a rather gruesome up close picture of the praying mantis teeth. "Should definitely be brushing after every meal."

Giles momentarily placed the mouthpiece of the phone and rested it against his neck as he looked at them skeptically "This computer invasion that Willow's performing on the coroner's office, one, one assumes it is entirely legal?" His voice sounded as hopeful as it was skeptical.

"Of course/Definitely/Entirely" came three simultaneous responses that dashed any hope he had. So he let out a sigh as he picked up the phones base and started to move towards his office.

"Right. Wasn't here, didn't see it, couldn't have stopped you."

Xander let out a snort as the girls gave amused looks at the librarian's retreating back.

* * *

><p>It seemed like a race now as they moved quickly through the streets attempting to find their target.<p>

The information that they got from Dr. Gregory's autopsy seemed to match up with what Giles got from his friend across the ocean. Seeming to have all the information she needed Buffy made a plan and she sent the two men to get the supplies for it. Sending Xander to the janitor's closet to snag a few cans of pesticide and Giles to the back of the library to find a recording of bat sonar. The Englishman had to be reminded that he had a video section to his library.

The pesticide was because she figured that despite the lady being a giant bug that it might work like pepper spray at the least and the sonar was because a bat's screech was supposed to reek havoc on the mantis's nervous system. The basics of her plan was spray, press play and then hack at the giant bug with a machete.

A very straight forward plan but they ran into a snag early on. The address that Willow pulled from the Faculty Roster lead them to an elderly and retired Ms. French. They were given the go around by a bug, it was kind of insulting. But Buffy remembered how the vampire she hunted the other night cringed and hissed away when it came across Ms. French.

Xander found himself in open awe of the girl as she rushed into the park one moment and the next came out with a clawed vampire roped behind her. Buffy took charge of a situation with a surprising ease, taking the challenge by the horns and not letting little setbacks stand between her and her goal. She really was a real life Wonder Woman.

The vampire cringed, struggled and hissed more and as they drew closer to a little house at the near end of the street. "Come on. What? What is it? This is her, isn't it, this is her house? This is it! Better than radar!" She pushed the vampire away for just a moment to get her stake but that moment was all he need to cut himself free.

"Buffy" Willow called out to warn their friend as the vampire snapped free with its bladed hand and went to take a swipe at the Slayer.

But a Slayer was feared by vampires for a reason, her reflexes and instincts kicked in far before Willow could utter her first syllable. She leaned back and shifted her legs position to land a powerful kick, unfortunately she didn't pay much attention to her surroundings as the miniature picket fence tripped her footing sending her sprawling to the ground. The vampire quickly jumped after her, claw held high as it descended towards her. She quickly scooted back till she hit one of the fence's wall effectively dodging his first swipe.

The vampire growled as it rushed forward to try and take another swipe but found himself surprised as Buffy invaded his guard and pierced his chest with a small white picket. He had a second to look down in shock at his relatively pathetic ending to his infamous career before turning into a pile of dust on the Slayer's shoe.

Buffy left out a sigh of relief as she stood and dusted herself off. That was too close for her comfort but she had little time to deal with her near death experience when another's life was at risk.

The group split up into two groups, or more accurately Buffy told everyone else to go through the front door while she smashed through the basement window.

They all hoped for and expected a gallant rescue of their missing classmate but what they walked into burned into their nightmares deeper than seeing Dr. Gregory's body. Blayne's body laid limply and headless on the ground as the giant insect that was Ms. French writhed on top of his naked lower torso. The large mantis teeth spread in glee, allowing droplets of fresh red blood to fall from her mouth.

"No." Buffy whispered as she paused, the window only half smashed in. They were too late.

Unfortunately, one person in their group didn't freeze at the scene.

"Get off him!" Xander's voice rang through the room, startling all the occupants.

He rushed forward foolishly, stupidly. Not even bothering to spray the creature with the bug spray he was carrying, he just rust forward and landed a right straight to the mantis's odd head. His hand instantly started to throb after the punch, the creatures exoskeleton harder than the bags he had grown used to punching. He ignored the pain and tried to follow up the attack but found himself with a face full of the back of the mantis's claw.

As Xander skidded back, now sporting a bloody nose and a few scrapes on his face, Buffy finally moved into action sliding flawlessly into the room and started her plan of action. Rushing towards the former teacher she pulled out a can bug spray and let loose its harmful content. "Back off ugly!" Ms. French let out a cry of pain that sounded a little too human with a strange hissing overlap as she backed further away from the poison's range. "You okay Xander?" After he gave a muffled affirmative from his spot on the floor Buffy started to stalk purposely into the beast's lair.

Now that she had time to orient herself she saw how much of a nightmare this basement was. It wasn't how dark or humid the room was that got to her but the fine layer of webbing that coated the floor and cages. And all of it was centered around a large pit filled with sickly yellow eggs and even more of them hanging from a thicker webbing from the ceiling. It was like a b-movie made real and it was more disturbing than she would have thought.

Pushing those thoughts aside she pulled a tape recorder from her jacket pocket, "Remember Dr. Gregory? You scarfed his head? Yeah, well, he taught me, you do your homework, you learn stuff. Like what happens to your nervous system when you hear this!"

At first the mantis flinched back when Buffy pressed play expecting something painful but began to relax as the speaker spoke staticy words "...extremely important to file not simply alphabetically..."

Buffy pressed stop in frustration and yelled in indignation "GILES!"

"I-it's the wrong side!"

Ms. French lashed out, knocking the recorder from Buffy's hands and under the nearby refrigerator. While Giles scrambled after it Buffy had her hands full with the mantis. The Slayer seemed to have the obvious advantage until she had to stop her friend from making another reckless charge, at least he used the bug spray this time.

As Buffy pushed him away from the fight Ms. French took the opportunity to push the girl over. But in the end that didn't slow down Buffy as she lashed a vicious kick from her position on the floor. Maneuvering easily on the ground she sent kick after kick at the monster while effectively dodging the many swipes from her opponent.

To Buffy's dismay Xander attacked again, this time with the machete from Giles weapon stock. Ms. French let out a pained yelp as the blade sunk in but to Xander's disappointment he had barely cracked through the exoskeleton. The mantis lashed out and its saw like claw scraped through his shirt and drew blood.

"ARG!" Willow's eyes widened as she watched Xander stagger back, blood slowly seeping through his shirt.

"Xander!"

Buffy grabbed the fallen machete, never turning her back from her opponent. She only sparred a glance at her wounded friend before moving in for the attack. She easily ducked under the first swipe and had the blade make contact. the difference between her strike and Xander's was staggering, a paper cut compared to a gash.

Ms. French reeled from the pain of the strike and started screaming when Giles found the tape recorder. The high pitched sound of a bat's sonar rang through the room causing the mantis to lash painfully and drunkenly around the room, leaving her vulnerable to Buffy's onslaught.

"Bat sonar. Makes your whole nervous system go to Hell. You can go there with it!" Viciously she started to hack into the mantis. Severing limbs and cracking into the exoskeleton. She continued until the body no longer even twitched. Winded she went over to join the others as they looked over the wounded Xander.

"I'm fine." He hissed out as Willow fussed over him. It hurt but he could deal.

"And stupid." Buffy pointed out "What were you thinking jumping in like that?" she demanded, resisting the urge to poke him in the chest.

"I couldn't just stand there!"

"But you shouldn't jump into the middle of it like that!"

"Children." Giles firmly cut in "This is not the time nor the place for this. Right now we need to deal with these eggs and get Xander some medical treatment" Buffy wanted to argue but conceded as she picked up the machete and started to do as he watch said.

After seeing his Slayer go about her work Giles reached down and gently lifted Xander by his bicep "Come now."

"I'm fine" he repeated again but took the support anyway.

"No you're not." Giles stated firmly "And we will be talking about your actions"

* * *

><p>His wounds weren't that bad. No stitches required, just some cleaning and a few bandages.<p>

It was kind of eerie how easily the hospital took the "I was mugged" excuse. They didn't even call the police just gave him a half pitied half worried excuse. A while ago he would have put that off to just being a doctor/nurse but now, he was wondering if it was ignorance or were they just ignoring it? He would have questioned them, demand an answer from them.

But Giles wanted to have his discussion about what Xander did wrong. He shouldn't have rushed in seemed to be the main theme of the talk. He was kind of glad Giles wasn't trying to dissuade him from fighting, far from it actually. He was actually giving him advice on what to and no to do in a fight. Another main theme was "We are practicing with that damn bow for a reason, use it".

It was one of the most heartening chewing outs he ever had.

That aside, a little pain wasn't going to stop him from practicing his magic.

He was near useless in that fight, bordering on, and probably was a, hindrance. He knew he was going to be weak for a good while longer but why did improvement have to be so slow?

He knew he had to be patient, he wanted to be patient but he found the practice of patience was harder than he thought. Especially when one of his friends was already out there fighting in a war he wanted to join.

The magic that he learned needed to help him keep up. He would pour over the dead witch's books that night looking for just that.

**AN:**

**Nothing besides the usual tell me what you think**


	5. Chapter 5

**It's harder to write this than I thought. All those little changes and motivations change the episode slightly which lead to another episode being changed and you didn't even mean to do that. Its hard but kind of fun.**

**Also, no asylum for Buffy, therapy and group counseling yes, loony bin no. **

**Chapter five: Success and Failures**

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Dig upon your well of power.

"Contact"

Magic burned through its new veins, traveling through its user's body to perform the purpose he was tasking it with.

Over and over again Xander reminded himself that magic was to impose his will and image upon the world. And even as minor as the magic he was try was it was still more difficult than he thought. Fifteen tries, fifteen failures. Disheartening but he wasn't going to give up just yet.

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Even with his eyes closed all of his attention was focused on the pencil lying in his hand. He tried not to grip it tightly as he attempted to line the object with his magic. He dropped it second latter on reflex as he felt the edges of the number two pencil dig into his palm.

When he was staring at the line of deep red started to seep out he didn't feel worry or disgust but excitement. The pencil cut him! It was sharp! He just did his first spell!

Let's see the next beastie he ran into just shrug off his hit the next time!

Completing his first spell was a surreally enjoyable experience. On one hand he just did his first spell, so a sense of pride was a given. Now on the other, he just did magic. Magic! Something not too long ago he would have sworn up and down was just a figment of some kid's imagination.

Now only if he could do that again and the next time, not cut his hand.

* * *

><p>Buffy Summers often considered herself a smart girl. Someone that noticed the little things and could read people easily. Whether that was reality or just her ego she didn't know or care but she found herself getting headaches as she tried to understand two rather infuriating men.<p>

The first was Angel. He wouldn't be so bad if he didn't keep popping out of nowhere and giving the most cryptic advice possible. He just whooshes out of the shadows, tells her something and then vanished before she could question him. If it wasn't for the fact he looked so yummy she would have kicked him where the sun don't shine.

The other headache was her friend Xander.

When she came to Sunnydale she didn't want to be a repeat of who she was in LA. She fully admitted that who she was before was a vain brat and she wanted to do better here. That's why she tried to make friends with Willow even after Cordeila put up a big sign around the red head that screamed social suicide. She was determined not to be as shallow in Sunnydale as she was at Hemery.

And through the shy red head she was formally introduced to the goofy boy she ran into outside the principal's office. It was obvious that he was crushing hard on her, which was a nice boost to her ego, but something changed in him when he found out about her other life. Just like she feared everything would.

Xander was the first person her age to find out about her other life. She didn't tell him, he just over heard. Ever since that unwanted destiny fell into her lap she always feared what other people would think of her. Would they think she was a freak? Would they think she was crazy? She knew her parents did, they sent her to see a psychologist after all.

But he didn't. Okay, she was pretty sure he thought she was crazy at first but after seeing his first vampire he changed his tune, and so did his view of her. At first he still acted like a crushing boy but soon it was like she was some movie star to him. Sure they joked and would hang out together but at times it was like she was in a spot light or a pedestal.

He expected things out of her, she could tell and it wasn't even the expectations of a normal teenage guy. She didn't know how to feel about that.

And then there was they he's been acting. She hadn't known him long but the difference between the day she met him and the next was drastic. So drastic she could tell. A constant scowl replaced the goofy grin she'd grown used to and his jokes were few and far apart. Willow noticed it more than she did and the poor girl was confused.

On one hand her best friend and crush was acting strange but on the other he was acting in a strangely intense way that made the red head feel tingly. The girl had it bad.

But the biggest problem she was having with him was that he wanted to fight. If his actions with the mantis lady weren't enough proof listening to him and Giles talk was. Archery lessons? Demonology?

Couldn't he just be happy with a normal life? She was forced to do this he wasn't. He should try and live his life not be trying for an early grave. She was holding onto any shreds of normalcy she had by the threads and he was basically throwing away the sweater. At least all Willow was doing was helping them with information gathering, not trying to chop into a giant bug with a machete.

Needless to say Xander confused as much as he pissed her off. He could easily ignore what he knew and walk away, have a normal life. But no, he wanted to fight and she couldn't decide if that was admirable or not. Either way she was jealous and was taking it out on some overly abused vampire she was tossing around the graveyard.

Speaking of which she should probably stop toying with him.

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely "We haven't been introduced." she produced a stake from behind her back and gave it a theatrical twirl before slamming it home in his chest "And you're history" she let out a satisfied sound as she dusted herself off from the vampire's ash.

"Poor technique" A voice called from behind her, causing her to jump in surprise "Prioritizing, sub-par... Execution was adequate, but a bit too bloody for my taste." Her new watcher said as he walked around a grave stone, scratching something down onto a notebook he was carrying.

She kept trying and failing to stop comparing him to her first Watcher Merrick. He never berated her like that, he said good job and encouraged her to do things her own way. He gave his life for her, she wouldn't forget him but her new watcher sometimes wished for him back... more than usual.

"Giles, don't mention it. It was my pleasure to make the world safe for humanity again" she gave the word pleasure an extra sarcastic influence hoping it would get on the man's nerves.

The man closed his book with a light snap "I'm not saying that your methods are without merit, it's, uh, y-you're spending too much time and energy. It should simply be: plunge, and move on. Plunge and..." He stopped his demonstrative plunge as something on the ground caught his eye. He pushed his pen through the pile of ash until he found his goal "Hello." Looped around the edge of his pen was a ring with a design Giles quickly started to study.

"Oh, that's great! I kill 'em, you fence their stuff." She accused but after a second of no retorts she broke "What is it?" She asked curious what it was about the ring that caught his attention.

"I'm not sure." The man answered honestly.

"And that bothers you."

"Yes!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with his momentary frustration before he quickly composed himself "I,I had thought this vampire was just on a random kill, but it may be something else."

Buffy tilted her head as she guessed "Something big?"

"Yes, I believe so." He paused for a moment as he angled the ring for a better look, studying the sun surround by three stars. It was familiar but he couldn't place his finger on where he had seen it before "I'll need to consult my books." He placed the ring in his pocket before turning to the Slayer "Would you like a ride home?" After receiving a negative he made his way to his car with the occasional mumble.

Buffy shook her head with a slight smile as he left, thinking that at least Giles wasn't as much of a headache as she thought he'd be.

* * *

><p>To say Aikido was different from Boxing was an understatement. To summarize Boxing as simply as he could was that it was all about hitting hard, hitting fast and making sure your opponent never got a clean shot at you. Aikido was about control, of yourself and your opponent. The instructor tried to explain the concept of "oneness" to the beginners class, that with this martial art there weren't two centers of gravity but one. Not to mention Boxing seemed to be about perfecting somewhere around ten moves to the best your body could handle while in the Aikido he was taught three moves in the first class and was expecting to learn more in the next.<p>

Not to mention their in class regimen was significantly different. In the Boxing trial he sparred twice, he had mostly beat his way into the bags throughout the classes. But in the Aikido trial everything was done in pairs, first he'd do the move and then his partner did the move. Meaning both of them were tossed to the ground throughout the class at varying force. Then there was the speed of the classes, the Boxing coach kept yelling "faster!"but in Aikido was a slower process... that involved him getting slammed on his back by a forty-something lady. Which he wanted to be noted could hurt more than it sounded.

So for different reasons than usual Xander entered school, his skateboard under his arm, with a hurting back. He should have paid more attention to the beginning of the class about "falling the right way", maybe then his back wouldn't feel like a giant bruise... or have his mantis scar throb. It wasn't that bad but it was distracting as hell.

"Hey Wills" he greeted as he came up to the red head at her locker. He still worried for her. Even after weeks have passed since she saw two dead bodies, one of them being violated before her eyes, she never seemed to recover to her old self. He guessed he wasn't his normal self either but he hadn't been since Jesse's death. He knew that, the teachers apparently knew that and he knew Willow knew that. But Willow recovered better than he did from their friend's death, so he was kind of hoping she could cope. Then again, different trauma different problems he guessed.

"Hey Xander." She greeted with a smile that two weeks ago didn't exist. "Did you do the homework?"

It still amazed him that she could ask him that, every, single, day, even with all that's happened to them.

"Yeah... I think I gave myself an aneurysm on the math though."

Willow rolled her eyes. The homework wasn't that bad, a real breeze actually. She really wished the school had advanced classes for her to take, just for the challenge of it. The only reason she didn't skip a grade was for Xander, or maybe it would be more accurate to say because of Xander. She didn't know if she could actually enjoy being in school without seeing him regularly, no matter how much fun the classes would have been.

"It's not that bad."

"Says the genius girl."

The two shared an amused look with each other before moving on with their day. At lunch time Buffy informed them of two things. The first piece of news that came out of Buffy's mouth was about some boy she met earlier, Owen something. He was the kid that always seemed to brood in English class... not that he could say much about that lately. Anyway, it was the second piece of information that caught his ear and attention. Apparently last night she and Giles had found something in the vampires ashes that was giving the local Watcher the creeps.

He made a side note to check in with the librarian to see if there was anything he could do to help. Actually he was going to go there now, it was alot better than sitting around as Buffy made goo goo eyes at Owen. He actually rolled his eyes as Buffy went over to sit with the boy.

He never got Lois Lane relationships.

So making his excuse to Willow, who barely noticed him as she watched the events with interest, he made his way towards the library.

When he arrived Giles gladly took his help in his search. The librarian already had the basics of what was going on but it seemed that every scrap of information they could find on the subject was pivotal. So far they knew that The Order of Aurelius had prophesied that someone called the Anointed One was coming, rising from the ashes of The Five, whatever that meant, and would arrive on the thousandth day after the Advent of Septus. It barely made any sense to Xander but the bits he could figure out he could correctly deduce that it was bad. So while Giles was re-reading his tomes to make sure he didn't miss anything Xander was doing math and looking through calendars. He had an uneasy feeling when he noticed that the countdown was taking him closer and closer to the current date.

"Uh, Giles, we might have a problem." Xander called out as his finger landed on a date.

"What is it?" Giles asked doing his best to hide how nervous the information gathered made him. "What have you found?"

Xander had his finger firmly pressed on a date in the calendar looking up at Giles in concern "It's today."

Giles cursed under his breath. He knew it would be soon otherwise the order wouldn't have started to move, still he had to hope that maybe the boy was wrong "Are you certain?"

"Two years, eight months, three weeks and six days after the Advent of Septus." The math still hurt his head, don't even get him started how much of a pain it was to take in account of the Februarys.

Giles just blinked and slowly nodded his head as he looked over the piece of paper Xander presented him. The math looked accurate enough and the evidence did point to the event happening soon, he just wished they had more time.

Xander watched as the Englishman pulled off his glasses and chewed on the end of the leg nervously. Obviously the situation wasn't of the good. Something bad was coming and all they had was a name and a time, nothing else. They needed more information but lunch was almost over and he didn't feel like having Willow dragging him out by the ear "Do you want me to stay and help you look?" Though a note saying he was helping a teacher could prevent such an event.

The librarian came out of his thoughts "Hmm, ah, no. Go to classes, come back after school." He answered the question distractedly as he thought of the different ways the books phrasing could be read. Lord only knew how all magical writers loved to be vague or dramatic. "I may need some help then."

* * *

><p>He had the math wrong.<p>

Giles had looked over his numbers and saw that Xander didn't count the leap year correctly. So his calculations were one day off and he found himself irritated from his perceived failure. Though neither Buffy nor Giles seemed to mind, though for two completely different reasons. Buffy had a date that night with Mr. personality aka Owen and Giles had more time to prepare and maybe even stop the event.

Xander stayed for a while after school helping Giles with just that but had to excuse himself so he wasn't late for his Aikido trial. The instructor was bugging him enough to buy a gi, he didn't need another reason for the old man to get on his case. Though before he left he argued his case to come along with Buffy and Giles the following night but all he received was a "we'll see", which irritated him to no end.

He'd been training like a mad man both with and especially without Giles. He was ready to do something. Sure the whole Mantis lady fight wasn't his finest moment but it proved he was ready to do something, right? He had learned his lesson from that anyway. Never rush in, ever. It does more harm than good, the scar on his chest more than proof enough for that.

He had to think before he moved. Act smarter, observe the situation, move with certainty.

Rushing in like that would just get him an early grave and that just wouldn't do. Someone had to look after Willow after all.

Speaking of which he had to get her and Buffy off his case. They keep going on about how he should hang out more with them, smile a bit more, dance at the Bronze. The last one he could usually excuse himself by saying he didn't have money for the entrance fee but the two were becoming more and more instant about him hanging out. Or at least Willow was spear heading the effort with Buffy providing support.

It wasn't that he didn't want to spend more time with them it was just, in his mind, that he didn't have the time. He had to learn, to train. His hand to hand subpar, he still knew little about demons and his magic was making little progress. He needed to push himself, get to a level where he was actually a threat.

But somehow he was still dragged to the Bronze after he said he didn't want to go. He really wasn't sure how they did it but he was pretty sure it involved a puppy dog pout. So there he sat next to Willow with a frustrated scowl on his face as they watched Buffy dance with her date.

"Seriously, why are we here again?" He groaned as he shifted in his seat anxiously. He wanted to be anywhere but there. Nose deep in old lady Madison's books searching for spells that didn't involve invoking some sort of god or trying to combine what he knew from Boxing with what he was learning from Aikido. It was a hundred times harder than he thought it was going to be, what he learned just didn't move together.

"Support!" Willow cheered her half truth. Part of her reasoning for coming was to support Buffy, she wasn't sure how but she was going to help her first girl friend anyway she could. But her real reasons revolved around the currently brooding boy. She was hoping that maybe she could convince him to dance a little, even if he did suck at it, just so maybe she could pretend they were on a date. But it seemed that her hidden agenda was a wasted effort as he squirmed and pouted in the booth.

"Why?" He grossed "I mean this isn't her first date." Buffy was a pretty girl and was a cheerleader at her old school, there was no way in hell that this was her first date. And if anyone needed further proof they could tell by the way she was flirting with Owen. "And she looks like she's doing fine enough."

"Well..." Willow trailed without finding an answer for herself, so she gave up "Do you want to dance?"

Xander sighed, as much as he wished otherwise he really had nothing better to do "Fine."

Willow nearly squealed as he stood and offered his hand in a cheesy bow. If he was going to be forced to be there he may as well try to have fun... hopefully he'd succeed.

* * *

><p>Xander couldn't take it. If he had to hear one more time about how great of a night Buffy had with Owen he was going to bash his head in, or, preferably, Owen's. He escaped the talks more times than he could count throughout the day but every time he approached the girls that's all they would talk about. It was all how sensitive the guy was, how cute he was and what Buffy should wear for their next date.<p>

The only good news of the day came after school when Giles found a newspaper article about a car crash taking five lives. Not something to usually be happy with but it was the first real hint they had about the Anointed one. The five bodies were found dead inside the bus, a lack of blood in all of them and marks on their necks blamed on broken glass.

That night they would go to the mortuary home and see what they could find. Xander was proud to say that he weaseled his way into coming with the Slayer and Watcher. It took some doing but he managed it by convincing Giles he need some real life experience to all the training that they were doing. It was actually a little surprising seeing the Englishman bend in so easily but he in no way was going to complain. Not that it stopped Buffy from protesting his presence. Constantly asking if he was sure about what he was doing or if he understood why they were there.

He shifted the duffel bag holding his quiver and bow as he listened to Buffy ask him if he was sure he wanted to go "Yes Buffy I'm sure."

Buffy pouted as she made to continue her argument but Giles, who was getting tired of the whole thing, stopped her "Buffy, we have been over this. Xander has proven sufficient enough skill to assist us tonight. Lord only knows having a helping hand could be needed tonight." Buffy just crossed her arms and pouted harder as she realized she wasn't going to win this fight. Giles turned his gaze to Xander "Xander, I want you to stick close while we are here and stay back if a fight should happen. A bow is for distance, not close quarters."

"Yeah got it, but uh Giles? We're going to be in a building? That's nothing but close quarters." Apparently the librarian didn't think of that and just stuttered for a moment. So trying to save the man from having a stroke Xander made a suggestion "I could stay in the halls or something?"

"Y-yes, that seems appropriate."

Buffy had objections but again they were mostly on Xander's presence, so the three entered the coroner's building with little difficulty. Once through the door Xander had eagerly released his bow and placed his quiver on his back, notching an arrow to the ready. "So the staff doesn't mind that we're here?" He asked out of curiosity as they passed the third empty hallway.

"No, in fact they gave me a key to the building and wished me luck." The Watcher said with a tone that clearly stated he was a little bit disturbed by how willing they were.

"Maybe they know the score and want to help?" Xander suggested as they rounded the corner.

"By running like chickens and leaving us to pick up the mess?" Buffy deadpanned

"Point." Xander said taking position outside the room they were going to investigate. As Giles and Buffy passed him to enter the room Buffy asked if he was going to be alright "Yeah, do your thing. Call if you need help."

Buffy nodded but she so wasn't going to ask for help. Hopefully there would be that one Anointed whatever and she'd stake him and that would be it. If they were lucky Xander wouldn't have to do a thing.

As the two entered the room Xander noticeably stiffened, his nerves finally catching up to him. Tonight was his first night that he was fully expecting to fight something. The mantis lady barely counted, they had a plan how beat her before they even entered the room but he ran in half assed and ruined everything. He planned on not repeating that mistake again. He started to let his magic burn through its veins as he prepared himself. He only knew one spell and he got it right about half the time but he would have it ready.

He was jolted slightly when he heard a noise down the hall. He knew he should stay and guard the door but they were supposed to be the only living things in the building at this time of night. So that meant something dead was doing something it shouldn't. Cautiously and eagerly he moved down the hall to the source of the shuffling sound.

When he got to bend of the corner he saw to figures two figures enter a room in the middle of the hall. His nerves steeled he moved towards the door, not expecting for one of the vampires to come back out of the room. "Who the hell are you?" the thing demanded as it advanced towards Xander. At first the boy wasn't sure it was a vampire but then it revealed its deformed face.

In one deep breath Xander raised his bow and pushed his spell around the arrow, accidentally sharpening the fletching of the projectile cutting into his fingers painfully. He sucked in the pain and let the arrow fly through air. The unnatural sharpness of the projectile caused it to sing through the air as it hit the vampire in the shoulder and nearly exited half a second later. "Gah!" it yelled in shock in pain, pausing to stare at the arrow wound in disbelief "You shot me!"

"That was the point" he barked back as he withdrew another arrow and notched it, cursing himself over and over for missing the target. Before he could fire it, even without the spell, the vampire had rushed across the room and was barely a foot away from Xander "Shit!" he released the magicless arrow from where he stood but the monster grabbed it with its bare hands before it could really take flight.

"You little piece of shit! You tried to shoot me again!" The creature yelled as its hand snapped and grabbed Xander by the front of his shirt, slamming him into the wall.

"Again, duh!" Xander yelled as he struggled to break the vampires grip, his legs kicking franticly and his hands trying to break the grip with an Aikido maneuver. But nothing worked, the vampires grip like steel as he held Xander against the wall.

"Annoying little bastard." The vampire mumbled as its anger started to vanish. "At least I got a juice box out of this shit."

Soon Xander felt a cool breath against his neck quickly followed by a sharp pain there. For a millisecond he froze as his mind processed what just happened. At first he didn't want to believe it, to deny what happened but soon his hatred for the creature and his disgust in himself boiled to the surface, defrosting him from his shock and moving his body despite the rapid blood loss.

A wordless cry escaped his lips as he dislodged the arrow from the vampire's back and started to stab the vampire at all angles with it. Over and over again the sharpened metal and wood pierced dead flesh while his mind replayed one single message to itself "Not here, not now, not yet."

The vampire eventually let go from the literal pain in his back. It staggered back a step to try and put some distance from the assault and its injured body, snapping off the arrow head into its flesh as it did so. Xander took the space like a breath of fresh air and hastily moved on with his assault. His stabs random and rarely blessed with his magic but it seemed to be doing its job as the vampire was forced to its knees in pain.

In the back of his mind Xander could remember something he read about vampires. That despite all their strength and speed until they've aged enough, they were as fragile as the day they were sired, with their only saving grace being their healing factor. And in that moment Xander realized the full scope of what that meant.

They could die just as easy as a human. Well almost.

Breathing heavily Xander moved forward with his broken arrow and lodged it between its ribs. With a strangled gasp it disappeared and Xander had bagged his second vampire.

Taking another long breath Xander moved his gaze from the pile of dust to the door where the other vampire entered. After that one on one match he was not looking forward to another one, he'd just go tell Buffy and Giles where it was and back them up.

Woozily, with one hand on his neck wound, Xander made his way to the door holding his companions and gave it a weak but sturdy knock before entering "Hey guys? I think that Anointed One guy had a welcoming party." The two previous occupants of the room looked up from their own dust pile, ceasing their conversation as they took in their companions state.

"Dear lord Xander! What happened?" Giles exclaimed.

"Like I said welcoming party, I got one of them but another one went into a room down the hall." He jerked his head in the direction where he saw the other vampire go. "I did not want to go another round by myself and thought it might be better to hide behind the super powered cheerleader."

"You should have got me in the first place." Buffy ground out, thinking that maybe it would have been better to never have friends, to never drag them into the night. Maybe it was better to be alone but some selfish part of her wanted to cling onto whatever human contact she could get.

"Hey, its not might my fault!" Xander shot back indigently, as he saw nothing wrong with his actions "I heard a sound, I checked it, it attacked, I fought back. Simple, I know, but the truth."

Buffy glared at his sarcasm but before she could do anything Giles had put them on task by asking where the other vampire was. After Xander decided he won his little match with Buffy he led the other two members of his group over to where he saw the other vampire go.

The room was much like the one Buffy and Giles were just in. Tables and chemicals made specifically to hold the dead and a wall full of drawers housing future customers. Through one of the drawers was left wide open and the table inside empty. Giles seemed a bit disgruntled as he took off his glasses and started to bite at the end of the leg. He was obviously connecting the same dots as they were but seemed to be taking it harder than them. Mostly because his main role in the group was information gathering and interpretation. The accuracy of his information was a matter of life or death for his Slayer and now their group. To let such a slip up pass hurt his pride.

"It would seem that we missed our target." He mumbled needlessly.

* * *

><p>Xander lightly touched his bandaged neck as he laid in bed. In honesty he was surprised he didn't bleed out but luckily for him the vampire didn't hit any blood vessels. He didn't know if it was the vampire's preference, poor aim or his own dumb luck but either way he was grateful. Though he felt a deep shame in himself for the near loss.<p>

He knew he wasn't ready but he greedily put himself on the front lines. He wanted to fight so badly that he forgot his own line "Batman wasn't built in a day". How he forgot something that had been driving him so easily was beyond him, maybe because he wanted in so bad. He wanted in so bad he acted stupidly and almost got himself killed.

But he lived and learned. And what he learned he didn't like but already knew. Vampires maybe almost as fragile as humans but they were stronger. An advantage that gave them too much leverage over him. His magic helped in the fight but only by a small, almost insignificant, margin. But that just meant he needed more tools in his utility belt.

So reaching over Xander grabbed one of the magic book he received from Mr. Madison and started to comb it over looking for a way to bridge, what seemed to be, an ever increasing gap.

**AN:**

**Sorry it took so long. I have no excuses and am sorry it's so short.**


	6. Chapter 6

**What took this chapter so long? One, I basically took May off because two event correlated rather nicely. I graduated College with a major in Criminal Justice and I turned 21, you get the picture.**

**Two, this chapter is actually twice as long and still wasn't done yet so I decided to split it in two. You know, so you can enjoy.**

**Three, the longer the original chapter length got the more it intimidated me and slowed me down.**

**Anyway, enjoy.**

**Chapter six: The Animal I Can Be, part one**

Xander had found that pushups were an oddly meditative work out once he gained the stamina and built up a pattern. Breath in as you rise and let it out as you fall, repeat. Once the pattern is set the mind can wander till the arms can no longer move.

His mind reached out to a number of subjects and bounced back and forth between them as his thoughts wondered. His first stop was his physical training. If he was being honest with himself he was making pretty good progress. His body was slowly but surely getting stronger, faster and wouldn't drop on a few mile run.

But he was never honest with himself. Nothing was ever going to be good enough or fast enough. That's why he was cheating with magic, his handy dandy multi optional tool. A very useful one at that, but at times it was annoying enough that he wanted to pull out his hair.

He had gained a decent handle on his first spell after a couple of weeks, even if he still cut himself now and again. But his second spell was driving him up a wall.

He had stumbled upon the spell in his search for Super Strength. Unfortunately all the spells that gave literal Super Strength translated into being the butt monkey of some god or demon. He wanted to fight, not be a slave. But on the bright side he found a spell that could get him the results that he wanted.

It was called Reinforcement and it did exactly what it said on the tin. It's magic that reinforces or strengthens a material by using his magic. It was like adding support beams to a building or tempering a vase so it was harder to break. Actually comparing it to tempering was an excellent example. Because just like tempering when you add too much of what makes it stronger, be it magic or heat, you break what you're trying to make stronger.

His magic was like adding poison to whatever he was trying to make stronger. It would become brittle and crack within seconds of the moment he added his power. He thanked god that he tried an arrow first and not his arm, a broken arm was not fun. And no matter what he did, adding less, adding more, pouring in the power steadily. Nothing worked, so he ended up looking at another spell so he could do the first one.

Again it seemed that whoever wrote that volume of Mrs. Madison's spell books liked to make everything as literal as possible and named the spell Structural Grasp.

Like the name implied the spell allowed him to view the structure of an object on a deeper level. He could see how something was put together and separate the types of material was used to make said item. But when he tried the spell on something more complex, for example his alarm clock, it was like he was a dyslexic trying to read French. He saw the plastic and copper of the wires but he didn't understand what they did or how they worked.

So now he could see what to strengthen and even monitor how much magic he poured into the Reinforcement spell but in honesty he was still struggling with the spell. Different materials had different... 'tolerances' of his magic and the more complex something was the harder it was to strengthen or understand.

Xander paused for a second as his arms started to burn but quickly pushed through with it with a grunt and forced out a few more.

His chest touched the ground and he struggled to rise again but after a few seconds of having his arms do nothing but wobble he flipped to his back and started a set of sit ups. He subscribed to the "Don't Stop Till You Drop" routine.

Anyway, like all his other self imposed trainings his Martial Arts training was iffy at best. His Aikido trial had come and gone making him move on to his next month long trial. The new Martial Art he was learning was called Eskrima.

He liked the pace of it, quick like Boxing and had them going through many mock spars as they were ran through the drills. The instructor had simplified the style for him during introductions saying that "What you can do with your hands you should be able to do with a weapon in it." They were teaching him how to fight with his bare hands, sticks and sometimes even knives!

And the style taught him a very important lesson. It was fine to go into a fight bare handed but better to come with a knife. A good lesson for fighting the super natural, always have a weapon. Always.

But it seemed like with every new style he learned the harder it was to learn anything properly with the next one. For example, he kept on using Boxing foot work in his Eskrima moves and moved his weight like he was still learning Aikido. In a way that's what he wanted and what he practiced when he didn't have lessons, but he did not like getting hit with wooden sticks when he messed up.

Xander stopped his sit ups as his alarm clock went off for the second time that morning, signaling that he better shower and get ready for school. He cursed as he stood up and began his morning hygiene, he hated when he woke up late. He didn't have time to do even half of what he wanted.

* * *

><p>Buffy's fist slammed viciously into the wooden dummy in Giles office, cracking and splintering the sturdy wood with little effort. "Not out going enough!" She growled as she rose her leg up for a powerful kick and shattered the left arm "I'm the Slayer! How am I not out going enough!"<p>

"Well, to be fair Buffy he doesn't know you're the Slayer." Willow offered hesitantly. Buffy was her first female friend in a long while and back then it was mostly talking about their Barbie dolls, not boy troubles. So she had little idea how to comfort her friend. But her words didn't seem to help as the Slayer's shin tore another chunk out of the wooden dummy.

Buffy growled as she twirled around for a follow up attack, removing the other arm from its shoulder. Why couldn't Buffy the normal girl have anything? Why did Buffy the Vampire Slayer be everything that she was, the only thing that had a chance of being more, of having more? Stupid Owen! With his sensitive and moody attitude! And his cute little smile and soulful eyes.

"GAH!" And there goes a leg.

"Buffy could you possibly be a little more gentle on the equipment, please." Giles asked from his spot. He didn't really mind, he had two more of the training dummies at home but at the rate she was going they wouldn't last a week. Unfortunately his request earned him a glare as the Slayer punched a hole clean through the torso.

"What's the big deal Buff?" Xander asked in the ignorant way of the males as he flipped through another one of Giles' demonology books. He had heard what happened earlier from both the girls and the school grapevine and honestly he didn't care. He knew it was going to blow up in her face. Secret Identities always put a damper on a super hero's life. "Other fish in the sea and all that."

As the two girls glared at the ignorant teenager Giles just sighed. The boy had a lot to learn about woman and when it was best to stay out of the conversation. Woman did not want to hear that there were "other fish in the sea" until they were done venting about how horrible said man was for dumping them. If they were the "Dumper" and not the "Dumpee" than things would be different, they'd want you to supportive of them and their decision even if you did not agree with it.

Honestly, it was almost like the boy never dealt with teenage girls before.

Luckily for the boy however said teenage girl decided it was more therapeutic to demolish the head of the training dummy, again making Giles sigh in annoyance. He's have to bring in another one the next morning.

"Hey Giles," Xander spoke out again and the English man prayed he didn't say anything more to anger the raging Slayer "I've been wondering, what makes a Slayer... well, you know, a Slayer."

"I beg your pardon?" He asked slightly confused by the question but having a decent idea where it might lead.

Xander turned his full attention to the librarian and looked him straight in the eye "I mean, what makes them so strong and fast? Did the gods bestow a favor upon us lessers or what?" Which would be cool and would cement his whole Slayer equals Wonder Woman idea.

Now both Willow and Buffy were staring at him. They had wondered the same thing but never really asked. Buffy just knew she was the one girl in the world empowered to fight everything that goes bump in the night but she honestly didn't know how or why.

And it was a decent distraction from the current drama.

"Well..." Giles trailed "T, that is one working theory."

"Theory?" Xander asked "As in, no one has a clue."

Giles grimaced "I wouldn't put it so crassly but yes." He tried to ignore the downcast look Buffy now sported."We have no real idea on HOW a Slayer gets their powers but we know the basic set the young woman gains and can track the Awakening, as some call it. We still have little clue what gives the Slayer her powers. Most think it is a divine gift though." He did not want to mention the theory that some carried about how the Slayer was a leashed demon to be used as a tool for humanity. God only knows how the children would react.

"So again, we're clueless." Xander said feeling a bit disappointed. He wasn't just asking out of his own curiosity, he was hoping to find out how to get stronger himself or at least find out which points of his body to reinforce to make him stronger. Now he was going to go with anatomy books and guess work... After he got a better hang of the damn spell. Even with Structural Grasp he still kept on breaking whatever he tried to make stronger.

The image of his arm shattering like his pencils or arrows did not fill him with joy.

Giles let out a hefty sigh, something he seemed to be doing more and more lately "Yes Xander. We are clueless" Did the boy have to be so blunt or did he just do it to annoy the older man?

"Just saying an organization as old as you say the Watchers are should know more..." He paused for a second as a thought occurred to him. Just a stray thing to peek his curiosity and ruffle the Englishman some more. "Hey does the Vatican have their own hit squad?" He'd seen something similar in probably a dozen different comic books, horror movies and fantasy novels. It would make a twisted kind of sense if they really did have one in this world of vampires and demons.

Giles sputtered once, then twice. At first it was in indignation at the flippant way the boy referred to Watchers Council, making a note to force feed the curious young man some literature pointing out the legacy of the Council and its constantly changing structure. The second sputter was caused by the mention of the Vatican. The Church did indeed have their own organization and he hoped to God that they never had to deal with them.

To be more accurate the Church had over a dozen subdivision designated to fight the Supernatural. Research, exorcism, exploration, executions, the list went on with each department was near frantically driven by their faith and beliefs. Not to mention that their combined number of combatants scratched just passed a thousand, each one at least very well equipped and subscribing to the Scorched Earth theory of combat. And the was not even getting into their Templars and that damned Paladin of theirs.

In short, they were a scary lot that the Council was glad they held a loose alliance with them.

"There is..." Giles said after a brief delay causing the young man to look up at him in interest "I will give some literature on them and a few other similar organizations after you are done with your current readings."

Xander stifled a groan while Willow perked up and asked for her own copy of the book list. Both of them wanted to learn more but only one actually enjoyed all the reading. "Thanks Giles."

"No problem at all." The man said almost dismissively as his mind catalogued which books would have the best material for that subject.

Buffy paid them half an ear as she glared at the remains of the punching dummy. She still had some steam to work off and the stupid thing had the audacity to break on her! Stupid doll, stupid boys! She stomped on the broken wood for good measure.

Willow, and the rest of the room, noticed said action and tried to cheer her friend up. "At least we have no class tomorrow Buffy" she tried lamely, while hurting her scholastic pride.

Buffy took no solace in that "No boy and I get to look at a bunch of smelly animals, joy." she tried not to make her words bite but she was still pissed. "I'm going to go kill something!" Buffy shouted as she made her way out of the library.

Xander waited a beat after she left "Should we be worried since, you know, it's still daylight out?" he was all for killing those oversized mosquitoes but there were none out at that time of day.

Giles looked at the door with a flickering sense of worry but that was quashed quickly "While sometimes incontinent it is better to hunt during the day where you have the sun's advantage" He said simply having faith that Buffy would use her innate vampire tracking skills to find an undead victim.

Xander nodded his head, reinforcing a lesson in his mind 'Press every advantage possible'.

This was war after all.

* * *

><p>Xander tilted his head to the side as he tried to decipher what he was seeing. He knew what was happening but it was like his brain couldn't fully connect the dots. He felt a little bad for the kids who were watching it with him because if he couldn't understand it then there is no way they could. So eventually he gave up and asked a more intelligent person, who luckily was standing next to him.<p>

"Willow? What am I seeing?" He asked.

"The Heimlich?" she half asked with her own head tilted to the side with stunned confusion "With stripes?"

"I wonder what she was choking on." Xander wondered as he kept on watching the zebras frantically thrust up against one another "Must be lodged in there good."

"I... think we should go." Willow said slowly as she came out of her daze, her face slowly glowing a bright red as she came to.

"Yeah... yeah, I think you're right." Why were they staring at humping zebras anyway? Well besides the point that it was so disturbing you had to watch. "We need to be far, far, away from here." he chanced one last glance "Very far away."

The two traumatized teens quickly walked away from the scene with tarnished eyes, trying to repress what they just saw. Willow suggested that they get something to eat but he looked at her like she was crazy, pointing out that after watching the Animal Channel live he was already having a hard time holding down his breakfast and she wanted to put more food in him? She was crazy.

Though he was enjoying her company, and the trip in general to be honest.

At first he thought that the trip was a waste of time. A needless distraction from the normal day of school where he could at least read over the ever increasing amount of "Necessary Knowledge" Giles kept on shoving at him. It was... nice to actually relax for a bit. To not be focusing on trying to kill monsters.

It was a pleasant change of pace, making him feel recharged and a little less wary of the world. It was nice.

"C'mon" she insisted "Some cotton candy will make you feel better!"

Another thing that made the contradiction that was known as Willow. She was one of the most anal people he knew about eating right and dental hygiene but had a weak spot for sweets almost as big as his own. Actually, it might be bigger now. Since he's been working out he hasn't eaten as much junk as he used to.

Weird.

Anyway, as they walked away from the Zebra exhibit they spotted Buffy walking towards the elephants.

"Hey, Buffy!" He greeted from a distance gaining her attention as Willow jogged the rest of the space between them.

"Where've you been?" The red head asked, sounding a bit too chipper to the depressed blonde's taste.

"Uh," Buffy started as she lead the two away from the elephants, trying to get away from the smell "I was looking at the fishes."

Willow tilted her head as she followed "Were they cool?"

"They were fishes." she deadpanned.

"I'm not feeling the field trip love here Buff." Xander commented.

Buffy shrugged "It's just,... we did the same thing at my old school. So... yeah, same old, same old."

"B-But, the zoo's so cool!" Willow exclaimed, going on to explain about how fascinating it was too see all the various species up close. If you had to credit the young genius with anything it was that her moods were infectious when she got going.

"Okay, okay, I get it. Zoos are cool" Buffy laughed as she cut the now blushing girl off.

"Well, they are." she mumbled as the trio kept on walking, enjoying the sunny day. Only to pause a second later as something suspicious caught Willow's eyes. "Hey, what are Kyle and his buds doing with Lance?" she asked pointing to where she saw the local bullies pushing one the local nerds into the off limits Hyena exhibit.

"Don't know." Xander said as his eyes narrowed. He didn't like bullies before and now that he had resolved himself to be a superhero a part of him wouldn't let it stand.

"What is with those guys?" Buffy asked, irritation flooding through her as she remember her own encounter with them a few minutes ago.

"They're obnoxious, professionally." Willow said with conviction. Remembering a few choice encounters with said group.

Xander was already moving towards the exhibit with barely a "I'll be back in a minute," to the girls as they did their little exchange.

The girl's stood stunned for a moment at his abrupt departure into the closed off exhibit. Following after the other teens.

Buffy glance over to Willow "You don't think we should follow?

Willow shook her head "Kyle and those guys are jerks, but they're all talk." She paused "Mostly."

Buffy's face contorted in worry as she shared a glance with Willow "Why don't we..." Trailing off the sentence hoping Willow got the idea.

And she did "Yeah, why don't we." She said as she followed Buffy to the taped off area. Only to be cut off by a balding employee.

"Oh, hold it, hold it, are you blind, or are you just illiterate? Because hyenas are very quick to prey on the weak" He said gesturing to the sign that said 'Danger: Exhibit Closed'.

"Oh, w-well, we were,"

"You're not going in there. Anyone that does is in a world of trouble." The man gave them both a glare that quelled the girls to back away from the gate.

"No, no one's going in there." Willow said, doing her best not to panic or take a worried a glance towards the now occupied exhibit.

Doctor Weirick, as identified by his name tag, gave her a skeptical glance that Buffy noticed and interrupted his line of thought "So why is it closed off anyway?"

The Doctor gave her a flat glance "It's a quarantine. These hyenas just came in from Africa, so keep out." He rose an eyebrow and decided to indulge himself "Even if they call your name" he said in an eerie tone.

"What are you talking about?" The blonde asked half suspicious half thinking he was crazy.

The good doctor fell in a full ghost story mode as he let the girls in on an old tale "The Masai tribesmen told me that hyenas are capable of understanding human speech. They follow humans around by day, learning their names. At night, when the campfire dies, they call out to a person. Once they separate him, the pack" He snaps his fingers off to the side causing the girls to jump, Willow much more so than Buffy "Devours them"

Oblivious to all this was Xander as he crept into the Hyena House. The faint echoes of laughing and someone's protest causing an extra bounce in his step as he came upon the scene. The four local bullies were pressing their victim against the railing of the exhibit, giving the victim just enough leave to stop himself from falling in.

Xander grit his teeth as he all but stomped over to the scene and ripped their hands off the scrawny boy. After giving Lance a quick glance as the geek scampered off he stood nose to nose with Kyle and demanded "Why don't you pick on somebody your own species."

Kyle scoffed "What? Are YOU going to get in my face?"

Xander glared back at him undaunted. He was preparing himself to fight monsters and demons, a school yard bully was an annoying bug to him. "Yeah."

A series of growls got the teens attention. All five of them turned to look at the pack of hyenas staring up at them seemingly entranced by the humans. The humans after a moment became the same a second later. The decorative the symbol on the floor seemed to shift and slither. The teens didn't move for a second, they stood frozen in place until both their and the hyenas eyes flashed a viscous green.

One of them fell to his knees as the sensation washed over him while the other four started to giggle at him. They tried to hold it back for a second but it quickly evolved into a full blown hysterical laughing fit. Xander felt like laughing too, like there was some joke he should be in on but he didn't quite get it. So he just shot Kyle on last glare and walked out of the Hyena House nursing his new headache.

* * *

><p>He felt off. The feeling wasn't bad or good just strange.<p>

His head was a little fuzzy but everything was so clear. The sounds, the smells, everything was so vivid and alive. Everything just laid before him to see and claim!

"Xander?" a voice called out from the side "Are you alright?"

Xander barely tilted his head to look at the Slayer "I'm fine." he said as he walked off the bus with an unusual pep to his step. "Just a little full of myself at the moment. Playing hero is very fulfilling" He gave her a grin that made his blonde friend roll her eyes.

"But you didn't get hurt right?" Willow asked ignoring both her friends' byplay.

"Wasn't even a fight. We glared, Lance ran, I walked away." He said with a shrug "But I was awesome." He stuck his chin up and struck a heroic pose that caused both the girls to giggle. Both girls happy to see that their friend wasn't acting so broody today. It was a totally new view for Buffy as she has only really known the more serious Xander. The one constantly asking Giles questions about demons or nose deep in some musty book. Well Willow did too but she did it for the sake of knowing while Xander did it... well she didn't really know. She could only guess he wanted to kill demons. Which was more than a little stupid in her opinion but she really didn't know what to do.

And for Willow it was almost like having her cheerful friend back. Like everything, just for a moment, was normal again.

"Sooooo." He trailed off in a goofy manner "What's up for tonight?"

"No new graves today so only light patrols after sunset and midnight but other than that I'm free" Buffy said as she mused over her schedule "So I'm thinking Bronze"

Xander suppressed a groan. He didn't like the Bronze but if that's where his friends were going...

"Sounds good."

Willow bounced where she stood "You can come tonight?" she asked excitedly. Xander hadn't joined them at the Bronze in what felt like forever! Always having so and so reason to excuse himself.

"Eh, I can skip a lesson or two I suppose." He said with a smile and a shrug. Not like learning a few new steps would mean anything. At the moment he felt like he could take on a vampire all by himself. Probably two, no five. It didn't matter. He could take them all.

"Lesson?" Buffy's head tilted to the side in curiosity.

"I'm learning Kung Fu!" Wait... Kung Fu was a different Martial Art... Maybe he'd look that up, see if it's worth his time.

Probably not.

"Really?" Willow asked eagerly, her mind flashing to images of Xander in a karate gi. All sweaty and glistening... Her eyes glazed for a moment.

"Yeah huh." He said cheerfully as he stretched out his body, fingers reaching for the sky "Well, I'll see you guys later. Man need food." He gave them once last grin as he walked away, barely nodding when Buffy shouted out at time to meet them at the Bronze.

He hummed a little as he walked away feeling unusually charged. Charged enough that he ran all the way back to his house.

He out did his best time.

* * *

><p>By the time he reached his home he realized there was something wrong with him. If not because of his over abundance of energy then because his magical circuits turning themselves on by their own violation. He could feel foreign power humming through him, slowly opening and coercing power through him.<p>

Only one of his current seventeen circuits were open and already he was feeling an onslaught of power.

Was this what it felt like to be chosen?

Was this the power of destiny?

Did his hard work bring him favor?

Did it really matter?

He was powerful! As proven by his easy lift of his bed over his head.

No more spells to bridge the gap between him and his opponent, no more constant practice and reading to give himself an edge. He had the power now just to get right to the killing.

He didn't need to wait any more.

With a feral grin he left his house just before sun down and decided to test out his new strength.

* * *

><p>Buffy hummed along to the music as she walked over to Willow. head bobbing to the side even as she placed her drink and croissant on the table. Despite her own smile her red headed friend had a stubborn little pout on her face.<p>

"I thought Xander would be here by now."

"Oh give him more than three minutes to be late Willow." Buffy said with a roll of her eyes. Xander had rarely been late since she known him and when he was he had a decent excuse.

And while Buffy thought that Willow scowled at her. Xander used to habitually late and if he was on time it was by the skin of his teeth. She was hoping with a return of his cheerful attitude some of his old habits would start to shine through. She wanted her Xander back dang it!

Buffy rolled her eyes in good nature "Girl, you're crushing so hard."

Willow tried to stifle her grin and looked away but she didn't deny it.

Buffy decided to tease a bit "Constantly measuring his health, his moods, his blood pressure,"

"130 over 80" Willow instantly said with a hint of a blush. It wasn't her fault that the hospital had such pathetic firewalls, besides they asked for it when they didn't just answer her questions. The good news was Xander's dad didn't' beat him, the bad news was that Xander's dad still drank.

"See! Hyperaware!" Buffy cheered after a gulp of diet soda "You've got it bad."

Willow gave a smile "He makes my head go tingly, you know?"

"I dimly recall" She replied wryly, thinking of her recent failure at dating and the mysterious possibility.

"But not so much lately?" Willow asked almost innocently as she recalled Buffy's recent relationship.

Buffy gave her own pout "Not of late."

"Not even for a dangerous and mysterious older man whose leather jacket you're wearing right now?"

"Goes with the shoes." The Slayer said instantly, trying to ignore the fact she was using it to play out a few fantasies in her head and forget about her recent break up.

"Come on, Angel pushes your buttons. You know he does." Willow insisted.

"I suppose some girls might find him good looking..." Willow gave her a flat look "...if they have eyes, alright, he's a honey, but... it's just he's never around, and when he is, all he wants to do is talk about vampires, and... I, I just can't have a relationship..." She finished bitterly.

Willow gave her a brief sympathetic look before something familiar caught her eyes, causing her whole face to light up "There he is!"

Buffy's head shot up "Angel?" she asked, her mind still on their previous conversation.

"Xander!" Willow cheerfully corrected as she experienced the previously spoken tingly feeling.

Buffy turned a little more to see the giddy teenager move through the crowd with ease. "Girls!" Xander cheered as he bounced over to them.

"Boy!" Buffy cheered back.

"Sorry I'm late... I, kinda forgot we were going to be here." He admitted almost shamelessly. Mostly because his lapse of memory came from tracking and killing vampires. By himself, with his bare hands! He bagged four of them without anybody's help, just himself and his hands. And they were so easy to find. Why didn't he notice the how bad they smelled before? They stank like someone took some blood and swirled it in an ash tray, and dumped it over fresh road kill. Seriously, they smelled bad.

Making them easy to track and easy to kill.

God he loved this power. The strength, the senses, the sheer thrill, he loved it all.

But he hated that smell.

His nose twitched as he caught a whiff of the vile smell. Was there one of those overgrown leeches in the room?

Following his nose he moved around the table, totally ignoring the questions aimed at him as he closed in on his target. His nose took in a deep whiff of the leather material before he pulled away in disgust.

"And the award for weird behavior goes to..."

"Where did you get that?" Xander growled out in disgust as he turned his nose away in distain.

"Why?" Buffy's question trailed off as her friend gave her gifted jacket a harsh glare.

"It smells like a corpse." He growled "Did you get it off a vamp or something."

"Uh... no... maybe?" She half answered feeling a little wigged by both Xander's behavior and the fact Angel might have given her a vampire's coat. Lousy bastard, no wonder he gave it to her so readily. She gave a furious whiff of her jacket trying to find the smell Xander had noticed.

She didn't even bother to question how his normal nose could pick up on something her slayer one couldn't. Though one could not blame her, she was still going through a little man hate at the moment and wanted anything to validate her current theory that all men were evil... most men were evil, Xander and Giles were alright but all the others were evil.

Nose still scrunched Xander scooted away from the Slayer and next to Willow, who didn't mind the seat change at all. "So, Xander, you still want me to help you with geometry tomorrow?" She asked with a little hope in her voice "We can work on it after class..." The red heads voice trailed as she noticed Xander's almost distressed face.

"Xander are you okay?"

To answer Willow's question, no, Xander was not okay. Ever since the Harvest and Jesse's death Xander held a certain dislike for the Bronze. Sure he could stand it but that nagging wrong feeling was always there whenever he entered the building. And Buffy's jacket was like the spark that started the fire. There were vampires in the club, at least five, prowling around the ground like the poachers that they were. It made him shift uncomfortably in place as his eyes darted around the room trying to find the source of the scents. Unfortunately they were drowned out by gallons of perfume, cheap cologne and various beverages, alcoholic and non.

The enemy couldn't be found and which meant his litter-mates were defenseless... well, one of them was, the other could take care of herself but that didn't mean he liked it.

"Don't like it here." He could feel a second circuit start to awaken, perhaps preparing him for a conflict. He didn't really care why though, he just appreciated the building strength.

His voice must have sounded a little too harsh because Willow shrunk back slightly into her seat "Sorry."

Xander snapped out of his rage and instantly assured the pup "You did nothing wrong. I'm just... restless."

Seemingly satisfied Willow made a suggestion "Oh, well, we could go get ice cream?"

It was halfhearted but Xander appreciated but his inner poor kid didn't like the idea of leaving after coughing up ten dollars to get in. "Maybe, here is fine for now."

Here he could keep an eye on Willow with a relatively known amount of predators around them. Sunnydale at night was a whole different game, one he wasn't going to risk just for ice cream.

Maybe for some meat, a lot of meat but not ice cream.

Just thinking about that made his stomach growl with want and made him half dive for the nearly forgotten treat on the table.

"Hey!" Buffy protested as she noticed her treat being snatched. Stupid jacket distracting her!

Xander ignored her protest as he bit into the flaky confection, regretting it a second later as he took a forced gulp. He tossed what was left back onto the plate and glared at Buffy "What, was, that?"

"Well, it was my buttery croissant." Buffy said indignantly.

"It's bird food." He deadpanned "Who could live off of that?"

"ME, if you didn't put your drool all over it." Buffy pouted out.

"My bad." Xander said halfheartedly as he pulled out his wallet and counted his money, which wasn't all the much "Wanna split for some chicken wings?"

Buffy glared at him thinking it was a weak peace offering while Willow pulled her money out of her pocket with little compliant as she knew the real reason why he was asking. He was hungry and didn't have enough money to buy it on his own. "Mild please."

The boy grinned "Sure thing Will" Snagging the money he rushed off to get the much needed meat.

Buffy rolled her eyes "Boys" A group of people she has now decisively decided had a lower IQ than the rest of the world.

"Oh, they're not that bad" Willow said as if she could read Buffy's mind.

"Says the girl currently tracking one boy's ass."

Willow blushed but did not deny.

Buffy was in-between deciding to tease her friend or keeping her annoyed altitude up for when Xander got back. Stupid boy stealing her nummy snack. Luckily, or unlucky depending on the point of view, she didn't have to decided as her irritation grew as a familiar group entered the club.

"Oh great, the flying monkey's have arrived." Her lips twisted into a scowl as Willow turned her gaze to find who Buffy was talking about.

Prowling into the room were Kyle and his little gang of cohorts. Pushing and giggling their way through the crowd with little care, actually they seemed to be enjoying pushing everybody out of the way hence the giggling. But there was one odd thing. Whenever Willow had seen the group before it was always Kyle in the lead. It was always him front and center of the group as they tormented some poor kid. But now Heidi stood in the middle of the group like some sort of queen, her smile vicious as maintained a steady pace in the middle of the group.

As they passed by Heidi gave them a passing sneer, briefly making eye contact with Buffy then deciding to move on.

Though Willow could swear Heidi mumbled something along the lines of "Bitch" as she passed.

Apparently Buffy heard somehow over the mingling voices and loud music because her glared intensified.

"Don't mind her Buffy." Willow said trying to sooth her friend "She's just a... meanie" She wanted to say a harsher word but her internal filters stopped her. She just wasn't designed to have a potty mouth. "Totally not worth your time."

Buffy let out a small snort leak out from her lips at the childish insult "Yeah, I guess you're right." That didn't stop her eyes from tracking the group as they forced a kid from his table and claiming it for themselves "Assholes." She mumbled as she turned her gaze back to Willow and decided to go back to their boy conversation while Xander was out of ear shot. Maybe helping set up her friend with her crush will help her get through her man hate.

So wrapped up in her teasing she didn't see one of Heidi's minions walk over towards the food line. Right behind Xander.

* * *

><p>Rhonda was in love.<p>

Not with any person of course but with the sheer intoxicating power that was now pumping through her and her friends. It was better than any high she had ever felt. And the best part? It was no illusion, just sheer strength and domination. So much so that Kyle and Tor had to listen to her, practically kissing her feet as she told them what to do. Sure she had to listen to Heidi still but that was okay. Heidi was the strongest, the Alpha, the Matriarch, she would take care of them. Make the right decisions.

Like dragging back their missing male.

He had run off on his own after they had been blessed, before Heidi took control, and was now running about errant. They just couldn't have that.

"Hey there." Her voice coming out silkily as she slid in line behind him.

The male stiffened at her voice and she knew he could feel it. The power. The mentality. All of it. All of it theirs just as he was. Their male, Heidi's and hers. He belonged with them.

"Uh, Hi." He greeted as if he couldn't feel anything. Like he couldn't feel that he was hers. But she knew, she could smell it coming off him. The want, the knowing but it was odd. She took a second sniff to be sure, there was no subtle fear. No Submission.

* * *

><p>Xander could feel it rolling off of her in waves. He could smell it pouring out of every inch of her skin, so much so that his head got a little fuzzy.<p>

So familiar.

Of course he knew who she was, they had a local bully and local geek relationship after all, but there was something more now.

"It was real cool what you did earlier. Standing up to Kyle like that." the tone of her voice sounded vaguely like an adult praising a child but he couldn't find himself to mind. "Very impressive."

Even if it felt like he was being talked down to Xander felt a small amount of pride swell in his chest. "Thanks." He said almost on instinct.

She gave him a smile that sent silent shivers down his back "You actually put Kyle in his place you know." Her touched his back lightly but it coaxed him enough to face her. "I didn't know there could be such a thing as silence with him around."

Xander tried and failed to suppress a snort. The amused action seemed to please Rhonda as her smile grew and her hand trailed down his arm to take a hold of his hand. "Why don't you come and sit with us and enjoy the new experience."

Xander could honestly say he was tempted but he was here with Willow and Buffy. It would be rude just to up and leave them.

"Thanks for the offer" he was actually sincere about that "But I'm hanging with my friends right now soooo... maybe next time?"

Rhonda blinked in shock and stayed silent long enough for Xander to feel like an ass and turn back to the line with a mumbled apology. He felt unusually bad for turning her down but he got over it easily enough when it was his turn for the counter. And never once after that did he notice Rhonda going back to her table with a dazed expression or the pack of stares now targeting his back.

* * *

><p>He actually had fun at the Bronze, something that gave him a bit of a surprise considering his feelings for the place. He got some decent food, hung with his friends and actually wasn't that big of a klutz on the dance floor. He silently thanked his martial arts lessons for that and their ability to install a semblance of rhythm into his body.<p>

After everything was said and done Buffy offered to walk them both home before going on her last patrol of the night. Xander had actually asked to join her on the patrol causing the Slayer to blink and balk at the idea. She made up some line that she would need to clear it with Giles and how she would need to prepare if she was going to take him along.

Xander wanted to call out BS but pouted through it. He would show her how great he was tomorrow. Besides his bed was practically calling to him already as it was.

No, that wasn't a half ass excuse on his part, it's been a long night after all. He was not backing down because a girl told him to. Nope. No he's not.

Seriously.

Anyway, he waved off her offer and said he would be fine. He even brandished the clunky wooden cross Giles gave him from his pocket to placate her. With an additional promise of running away if he ran into trouble, something he was only going to consider now, Xander separated from the girls and made his way home.

It wasn't till he was half way home did he realize he was being followed.

With a growl he turned and felt another one of his circuits start to burn open. He didn't see anyone immediately but he could smell them and more so, he could hear them. They circled around him just giggling. "Come out!" he yelled with his teeth bared. That only seemed to make to giggling louder.

Fine, if they wanted to play games he would play.

His right leg flicked backwards as he raised himself to the balls of his feet and moved stiffly into a boxing stance. One hand in front and the other by his ear, his legs shoulder width apart with his left foot forward, everything just like the instructor taught him. He bounced lightly from foot to foot as he kept all his senses open just waiting for them to make themselves obvious.

"Oooh, he wants to fight?" A male voice called out to his right. There was probably going to be a follow up statement but Xander made a blind dash, more of a gallop really, in that direction and slammed his fist forward. "Hey!" He hit empty air as something equally as fast as his abnormal self moved out of the way. So with a growl of frustration Xander sent out a rapid fire amount of jabs in the direction his prey had fled.

Boxing was the first style he learned and it was the base of whatever style he was trying to build. Everything else often felt like an add on to the style as he tweaked it in his solo practice. Though falling into boxing habits in an another martial art got him into trouble half the time. Again, wooden sticks hurt.

But despite all his practice, despite all of his new power, he still didn't notice someone sneaking behind him until they got him into a full nelson. "Hah! Got him!"

Xander slammed his head backwards, crushing it into his captor's nose and rolled his shoulders out of the lock. For good measure he added an elbow to the ribs.

"Son of a..." And pop to the mouth.

The one who blindsided him staggered back as Xander retook his bearings. He was outnumbered, he knew that much, and whoever they were they were about as strong as he was. And with whatever power was flowing through him that was saying something.

"Hmm, who knew Harris actually knew how to fight?" Xander whirled around to face the voice, only to find that to be a stupid decision a second later as his two previous attackers jumped on his back and pinned him to the ground. Xander growled as he struggled under their combined weight and strength. Another circuit burned open and was able to get a little room before the two on top of him viciously shoved him back to the ground.

From his position on the ground he could make out two pairs of rather feminine shoes making their way towards him. Shifting his head slightly he saw them and felt fear.

It was subtle and barely noticeable but it was there, in the back of his mind just whimpering, telling him to listen to what they said.

But lately he had found whenever he'd felt fear anger and hate were soon to follow. So as quickly as it appeared the fear was drowned out and pushed aside for his more fiery emotions. His struggles doubled briefly but all actions and movements stopped with a calming touch to his face. Finger's lightly played across his cheek before landing on his chin and forcing him to look her right in the eye.

Heidi hummed as she looked down on the male. There was so much fight in him, which was appealing on some level but mostly annoying. He was strong though, definitely deserving a higher rank than Tor or Kyle, but was he worth the effort? In the end she didn't care. He was hers and she would have him.

"Why do you keep on running away?" She asked curiously. She was honestly confused, first he left the pit without even saying a word to them and then he rejected Rhonda's offer to be with them. It was a bit maddening. "Can't you feel it? You belong with us."

Oh he could feel it. Just like when he was talking to Rhonda in line before, he could just sense it coming off of all of them. And it seemed so much stronger now, so much more intoxicating.

Why was he feeling this way?

Wait... they were strong like him... and they felt like him...

Was this a Power Ranger deal? Pick five teenagers with attitude and give them super powers?

If so, they picked the wrong end of the attitude spectrum with Heidi and the rest of them.

And why weren't they color coded?

"I'm not running." He said finally after giving up on his restraints and just stared her dead in the eye.

Heidi stared back and let out an irritated "Tch" when his eyes didn't instantly look away and submit. She sure as hell wasn't going to look away or even blink until that male did, even if she had to spit in his eyes to do it. Luckily for him she didn't have to as his gaze looked to the side and broke contact.

If asked Xander couldn't tell you why he broke eye contact just that something was practically begging him to do it. Just nagging at him till he broke the gaze.

He decided then and there that if this was a Power Ranger deal then Heidi was the Red Ranger. Which kinda pissed him off. He worked for power and she was just handed it after being a bitch? These powers better have some sort of redemption plan for the other four.

And he better not be the Pink or Yellow Ranger.

Heidi gave a nod of approval "Good, now listen up. We have a few things to go over."

Xander suppressed a growl.

**So, how do you like how I'm handling the possessions? I'm trying to keep the gender roles the same while having Xander's developing magic damn it back as magical resistance and his own growing distortion fights off the influence.**

**I'm a little disappointed that I had to split up the chapter since I wanted each one to equal an episode but I figured that this was for the best. **

**Please tell me what you think and peace. I'll try to have part two out within the month.**


	7. Chapter 7

Just to explain a few reviews in a go or two. One of the main crossovers in this is the combination of magic systems and the transition of characterization. So not everything is going to be like Nasuverse or Buffyverse.

**Chapter seven: Animal I've Become, part 2**

Xander rapidly tapped his foot in frustration as Willow tried to coax him through the math problem. The lines and numbers just didn't make sense anymore and frankly he couldn't give a flying shit.

How were numbers important anyway? They didn't matter in life. All really you needed was food and a place to sleep and you were golden. How were numbers going to help him with that?

"C'mon Xander, you had this." And that was one of the annoying parts, not that he had to do it but that he had it down pat just a few days ago.

"I'm just not getting it" He tried not to snap at he but it still came out that way.

"It's simple, really. See," She pointed to the problem and made a near random pattern as she explained the formula " 'The bisector of a vertex is the line that divides the angle at that vertex into two equal parts."

Gibberish.

"Why do I need to learn this" He groaned, resting his forehead in his hand, rubbing it in irritation.

"Cause, otherwise you flunk math?"

"And that's bad how?"

"You remember, you fail math, you flunk out of school, you end up being the guy at the pizza place that sweeps the floor and says, 'Hey, kids, where's the cool parties this weekend?' We've been through this."

He moved his hand to his temple as his headache grew.

Willow's hand tentatively touched his "Do you have a headache?"

Xander waved her away "I'm fine." he answered before slamming the book shut and tossing it in his bag "Ah! That's better, it goes right to the source of the pain."

Willow gave him a disappointed look "Xander..."

"Look, I'm just not getting, alright?" He really was trying to keep his calm with his littermate but she was starting to get on his last nerve.

"But," He silenced her with an annoyed glare before getting up and leaving. "We can finish it another time" she said meekly as he walked into the school.

* * *

><p>Had the halls always smelled this bad?<p>

Perfume, body spray, b.o., the lingering smell from the cafeteria, all of it just mingled and laid in the air like an actual wall of odor.

He sneezed twice just coming through the door.

Xander was so irritated by the smell that he didn't notice Buffy walk by with a squealing pig squirming in her arms.

Not that the smell was the only thing that was irritating him.

Or the math.

In truth it was the Ranger Pack that was bothering him. All that power and they chose to do nothing but sit around and giggle at the silliest things.

When he suggested actually hunting like he felt his power craved to do Heidi hit him fiercely on the back of the head and glared at him. Telling him to keep his mouth silent unless she asked for an opinion.

He wanted to retaliate somehow, anyhow, but something whispering through his circuits, through his new power, told him to submit. To obey the female.

To obey the leader.

His face twisted into a vicious snarl all on its own, making a few people give him wary glances.

Heidi didn't deserve to be the leader. She didn't earn any of the power she held. She didn't spend hours in pain as she tried to achieve more. She didn't spend day upon day learning new facts about the enemy.

She didn't deserve to be the Red. Hell none of them deserved their power.

Whoever was the Zordon of these powers screwed up and it was seriously annoying Xander.

"Hey! Harris! Over here!" Xander didn't even bother to hide his sigh as the voice called him from the edge of the courtyard.

Tor had taken it upon himself to get Xander's attention, which meant Heidi wanted him over there. Now.

So begrudgingly he went over to sit in the queen bitch's court.

* * *

><p>The sound of thunder echoed through the gym as the class dutifully followed the coach in.<p>

"Alright, it's raining, all regular gym classes have been postponed, so you know what that means" He held up a large rubber ball with a eerie amount of glee "Dodgeball! Now, for those of you that may have forgotten, the rules are as follows, you dodge"

He tossed a ball randomly in the crowd and pulled out another one and repeated the process "Kyle, Taylor, step up and pick the teams."

Both Kyle's and Taylor's first choices were fairly obvious. Taylor picking every athlete he could while Kyle picked out his usual cronies. But Kyle's next choice came as a bit of a surprise.

"Harris" this choice gave brief surprise to everybody because as far as everybody else knew Xander did not hang out with Kyle and his gang nor was he all that athletic. It passed for most of the students as Taylor took his chance to pick but Buffy and Willow gave the grumbling boy a curious stare.

Once the two teams were picked, with Buffy and Willow unfortunately on the other team, the balls started to fly.

In honesty there only six real players in that match and everyone else was just cannon fonder. And unfortunately for one of those teams five of the six were on the other side.

And to the coach's delight that made the whole game a slaughter. There was never a second when one of empowered children didn't have a ball in their hands and a victim sporting a new welt.

And when Willow gained her own welt it took all that annoying whisperings power not to have Xander attack Rhonda then and there. Though from the look on her face she did not appreciate the growl and glare that escaped the whisper.

When it came just to Buffy vs the Rangers plus one Xander grew excited. He was going to see just how well his Ranger powers matched up against the Slayer.

But as he licked his lips and spun the ball in his hands he heard a cry from behind. Turning around he saw the rest of his team ganging up on the only non powered player left. Repeatedly going through a cycle of throwing the ball, catching it as it bounced off and throwing it again.

Xander just stared stupidly at them for a moment. This is what they were using their powers for? To target the weak?

His shoulder tensed as he powered through the whisper in his ear and made his way over to the circle. His free hand flexed as the other arm geared up for a powerful throw.

And with a thunderous crack the orb of red slammed into Heidi's back causing her to stumble and trip over their victim, who strange enough was Lance.

The rest of the Ranger Pack turned to look at Xander in shock, like they couldn't believe he actually had the balls to hit the lead female.

When Heidi turned to glare at Xander the whisper in the back of his head started to scream at him, the foreign magic in his circuits plead to him, but he didn't care.

They were unworthy of the power and he was not going to bow to some little wannabe tyrant on a power trip.

So despite the efforts of the whisper Xander did not look away, his just grit his teeth and glared back.

Buffy slipped to his side in show of silent support, already seeing things about to go violent. Good, because if they did he was not losing to these waste of space again.

The two groups stared each other down, the Pack's eyes focused solely on Xander with a bare glance at Buffy. They were all looking at him with so much contempt that something in him wanted to whimper and run but his own anger was drowning it out.

Finally Heidi and the pack turned away with one last sneer and left for the locker rooms.

As the coached cheered his love for the game Buffy looked at her fuming friend "Xander? What was that?"

"We. Are. Talking. To. Giles." His own fury mixed with the foreign power's fear causing his voice to go unsteady and crack. "Now."

He didn't even wait for the girls to change before charging to the library.

* * *

><p>Xander prowled back in forth in the library with a perpetual scowl on his face. His teeth grit in irritation as an unnatural fear squirmed inside him, inside his magic.<p>

"I want their powers gone." He growled out again for what seemed like the hundredth time for both him and the people in the room.

"Xander please calm down" Giles asked again in what was apparently futile attempt "We need to go over what we have learned." Though the librarian seriously doubted it was 'Ranger powers' like Xander seemed to think. Even if he would grudgingly admit it could be something similar.

In honesty it could be over a dozen different things. Demonic heritage starting to take in conjuncture to puberty and proximity. A magical infection of some sort. Being chosen by some deity to do their work.

The sheer number of possibilities made it very important that they tracked Xander's movement over the last few days with the utmost scrutiny.

"How many times do we have to go over this till we can get something done!" Xander yelled with his teeth bared, angry at the whole situation.

Giles made a note of the anger. He had known the boy for only a handful of months but already knew him well enough to know that wasn't normal... for him.

"Until we know for sure what is the cause of this sudden strength."

Xander took a step forward and slammed his hand to the table, causing a series of cracks and creeks from the hard wood legs, "I still say we find them,"

"And what? Hog tie them to a pole or whatever such descriptive nonsense you were about to prattle out" Giles snapped, a headache brewing from both the situation and Xander's attitude "While preferable what would you have me do? Go into the classrooms and just lasso them in like cattle? Even without their new-found strength that would be ill advised at best. What we need right now is discretion."

Though it was odd that the empowered students still attended classes despite their obvious delinquent tendencies both before and after their powers.

Buffy fidgeted in her seat feeling totally out of her depth and wishing Willow could have worked up the courage to actually skip a class.

This wasn't about some random monster to kill, these were actual people, humans, her classmates. She couldn't just go up to them and stab them in the heart. They had to treat this softly and she wasn't sure she could do that.

The fact that whatever was going on was affecting one of her few friends didn't help matters any.

"So, what, we just let them run around and do what they want until we know how they got so strong?" She questioned "No offense Giles, but that plan stinks."

Xander rapidly nodded his head in agreement.

Giles removed his glasses and started to rub his eyes. "While not ideal it is what we must do." Letting out one last sigh that screamed finality to his conversation with Buffy he turned to Xander "Now you say you started to feel off after your field trip to the Zoo?"

"Yeah. Right near the hyena pit."

That bit of information alone narrowed down things considerably "And are you sure you didn't see anything out of the ordinary when you entered the exhibit? Symbol's? Shadow's moving? Strange lights?"

Xander shook his head "Just me and the assholes." something whined in the back of his skull.

Knowing where the change alone happened helped narrow things down considerably but he needed more information.

And as a Watcher it was his duty to come up with the best course of action "A-alright." He managed finally as a plan fully formed in his mind "I will take early leave and go to the zoo to find any more clues as to what's going on. Buffy I want you to keep an eye on the... possessed."

Buffy nodded, happy that they were finally doing something "Right"

"And me?"

Giles gave him a flat look "You are one of the possessed. Buffy will be keeping an eye on you to."

"But I can help." He growled "I can control this"

Giles stare never wavered "From the change of attitude I'm seeing no you cannot." He stressed the last word enough so much that Xander could feel the suspicion in his voice. Like he would flip sides at the turn of a hat.

Xander's growl deepened at the implication. How dare he even think that! Xander was going to be a hero! With this power he could be a hero!

Another magical circuit burned open as he took a step towards Giles.

Buffy moved between him and Giles in response.

"Yes. I. Can." He took another step.

"Xander, you need to calm down." Buffy tried to say as soothingly as she could but she was starting to slip into Slayer mode so it came off more as a sharp command.

The whimpering was louder now. Begging him to listen to the female once again. To back down and quell his anger.

It had such an influence that he actual froze mid-step, struggling to move. His teeth bared for a second before he finally relented.

"Fine" He spat as he started to stalk around the room again.

Giles gave Buffy one last look before he left "Keep an eye on him especially."

* * *

><p>And keep an eye on him she did, for about twenty minutes before she got bored. All Xander did was pace and growl, like he was trapped in a cage. Which at first set her on edge but when that was all he did she started to stare into space.<p>

Though thankfully for her sanity and attention span Xander finally did something. He stopped his pacing and immediately whirled around to face her "We shouldn't be sitting here. We should be doing something!"

"Like what?" Buffy asked not even bothering to raise her voice "Giles shot down the whole tie them to a tree idea."

"And since when do you actually listen to Giles?" Buffy led them, Giles advised them, Buffy shouldn't just be doing as he told.

She was the Red Ranger and Giles was the Blue... then again they could argue he was the Alpha but wouldn't the be Willow?

Whatever, the point being they should be doing something!

Buffy just shook her head denying his argument "Since this is people" This wasn't some random vampire or a crazy mantis lady, these were humans. She couldn't just up and kill them because they stumbled onto something they shouldn't have.

"So? They're dangerous! They'll hurt somebody! Kill somebody!" His eyes flashed green for a split second but the Slayer's enhanced eyes caught it "They need to be taken down, now."

"We don't kill humans Xander." Her voice firm as she stood by the belief. Honestly killing a vampire for the first time made her queasy, they just looked so human before they showed their true face. And despite everything she still felt guilty over what happened to Mrs. Madison. Her conscience had drawn a line for her and she was not going to cross it.

"Again I say, so? They are an enemy! They are dangerous! They need to be removed!"

"And they are human" She repeated her own voice coming out in a frustrated growl. Maybe it would have been better for her sanity if Xander just kept on pacing. "I protect humans. I keep them alive! I don't kill them."

"And if a human was going to kill another human what would you do? Just stand there and watch" Xander's face scrunched up into a sneer "Fucking coward."

Buffy bristled for a moment before taking a calming breath "I'm going to let that go because of whatever is going on with you. Now I'm going to say this again, calm down."

Xander's muscles seemed to coil in on themselves as they strained against action. Again his teeth bared as he gave his acceptance.

Buffy gave a sigh of relief as he went back to his mindless pacing. But as much as she hated admitting it he was right. She couldn't just sit around and watch him go around in circles. She had to do something but how could she do anything with this ticking time bomb in the library?

* * *

><p>Rupert Giles was no stranger to sneaking.<p>

In fact he was quite good at it. Call it a... side effect of a rather colorful youth. So getting into an exhibit with little to no guards in an open zoo was like a stroll in the park.

The exhibit, in his opinion, was rather overly done. Like it was designed more to be an altar than a zoo exhibit, which didn't set him on any level of ease as he took in every little detail he could.

The animal in the pit seemed lethargic at best, the walking dead at worst. Which did support his theory of trans spirit possession by the hyena's spirits. The animals before him were not truly alive anymore, their spirits taken from them and all that was left were bodies running off of memories.

The next thing he noticed was probably the most important piece of evidence he would find in his trip. A large circular design marked the floor in red paint, leading from the stairs of the exhibit to the near center of the room.

While he was a little lacking in his knowledge of African Mysticism he did recognize the design to be of such. Possibly acting as a bridge for the spirits to cross over into the human vessels.

Taking out a small notebook and pen he started scribble down the design along with a few notes so that he could better find what ritual caused their latest problems. He was also making notes of several ideas that popped into his mind to remedy the situation.

"What are you doing here?"

Giles jumped at the voice and turned to meet it.

* * *

><p>"Would you stop that." Buffy hissed at Xander as his irritating foot tapping finally got to her.<p>

"You aren't the one feeling like something is about to tear itself out of your skin just by being near those four." He hissed back but did as she said.

Why did she bring him along again? Oh yeah, so he didn't destroy the library or do something equally stupid.

The two of them immediately started following the four possessed students as soon as the bell rang. The only time they paused in their search was when Willow met up with them.

Needless to say neither of the empowered teens wanted her anywhere near the super powered bullies. The red head pouted but she believed Buffy's cock and bull story about how someone had to wait for Giles to return. Probably because it made sense.

With that distraction out of the way the two teens followed their targets through the halls. Buffy was a bit nervous that they could smell them out like Xander seemed to do with everything, like her now boxed leather coat, but said boy assured her that most of their peers drowned themselves in enough perfume and body spray that they didn't need to worry.

Which was reassuring but it made their job rather boring. The four teens just picked on some random kids and started to lounge around the courtyard without a care in the world. Which in Buffy's book made for a boring afternoon.

And in Xander's a total waste of power.

Xander could hear them mumbling amongst themselves but it was too muffled for him to hear. All the slight sound of their voices did was cause whatever gave him his powers to stir uneasily. He ignored it the best he could but it was annoyingly persistent.

But while he couldn't hear Buffy's eyes narrowed, like she could hear everything they said and something was bugging her.

"I think they're about to move."

"Really? What did you hear?"

"About five minutes of them whining about the school's food and how they were hungry." Honesty the things they said about meat kind of disturbed her.

Especially when Rhonda started talking about the nice juicy pig she saw earlier in the day.

As the four teens started to rise Buffy tugged at Xander "C'mon, I think I know where they're heading."

Xander obediently followed her as they moved in a totally different direction then their targets. He could only guess what was going on in Buffy's mind but she was the Red, so he followed her.

Apparently wherever Buffy was leading him she chose right as they arrived in time to see the four enter a room not far from the front of the school. They also arrived close enough to hear the squeals of panic from the schools new mascot as four hungry predator advanced near its cage.

Buffy tensed and started to move.

"Tell me we aren't going to act just because a pig is in danger." It's just a stupid piece of meat, if they were going to interfere with something as simple as that, then they should have acted sooner.

Buffy didn't even spare him a glance as she quickly advanced towards the room "We are"

Xander did nothing more than grumble as he moved after her.

* * *

><p>"Students possessed by hyenas you say?"<p>

Giles had tried to side-step the conversation, give himself a decent excuse as to why he was in an off limits area. But most of it came out in a damnable stutter and the zoo keeper wouldn't buy any of his excuses. Eventually he hazarded the truth, this was Sunnydale after all and in his, admittedly limited, time living there he had found the truth to have a certain effect on people.

Usually in the form of them stopping with their incessant questions and tossing the key at him.

And judging by the lack of disbelief he was receiving, and knew he would get just about anywhere else in the world, he hazarded right.

"Yes"

"Are you sure?" The amount of excitement he heard in the man's voice set Giles a bit on edge.

"Quite certain," Giles eyes narrowed a bit "Y-you don't seem enormously surprised by this."

The zookeeper hummed as if in deep thought "The zoo imported those hyenas from Africa. There was something strange about them from day one. I did some homework... That particular breed is very rare. Totally vicious. Historically they were worshiped by these guys..." The man started to snap his fingers as he searched for the name "Primals, yes that's it"

Giles interest was firmly peeked "Primals you say? Is there any other information you could give me?"

The other man actually seemed a bit embarrassed "Just that they had rituals for taking the hyena spirits, but I don't see how that could've happened to your kids."

"Hmmm." Giles ever the researcher, ever the Watcher, doubted that. Sure there was a chance that such an advanced magic circle was just laid there by some poor uninformed sap who thought it looked pretty, but there was an even greater chance that someone put it there on purpose.

But for now the children come first.

"I-I will need to gather more information of course but I think we can remedy this rather simply" He'd have to go over some of Sherman Jefferies work on cults and maybe reread some of the less... violent of the exorcism text but he was sure that if he used the already made circle as a medium and return the spirits to the hyenas as containers he could do it.

"We may need to use the exhibit to help the children" Giles said with a rather firm voice "If that's alright with you."

"By all means." The zookeeper said eagerly "Please contact me if you need any assistance, any assistance at all. Ask for Dr. Weirick"

Giles did his best to keep the suspicion out of his face as he left the exhibit.

* * *

><p>A few thoughts traveled through the room as Buffy and Xander entered.<p>

Buffy's mostly revolved around how she was going to save Herbert the pig and knocking the four other teens out.

Xander's thoughts ranged from 'Oh shit!' to 'I'm not backing down' with everything in-between being cycled through in matter of seconds.

The members of the pack all had one thought in their mind, one they didn't at all mind voicing to the world as the turned to face the intruders. "Traitor." They even ignored Buffy and their would be meal as they focused on their missing number.

Herbert the pig was just happy someone stopped the freaky humans from eating him.

The pack were the first to act, moving on instinct, indignation and rage from the mere sight of Xander. He dared to attack the Matriarch, he dared to walk away? He would not get away with it.

Unfortunately for them they did one of the dumbest things possible in the supernatural community in their haste.

They turned their back on the Slayer.

They took maybe half a dozen steps towards Xander before she struck. One second Tor was following behind his pack the next he was across the room slamming into the wall. And soon after falling to the ground unconscious.

The resounding thud was loud enough to get the rest of their attention, and again foolishly leaving their backs open.

Xander didn't give them a chance to even take a second look at Buffy as he started beating the ever living crap out of Kyle, pointedly leaving the females alone. Not that they cared, there was bigger game in the room and it needed to be dealt with before they dealt with pack issues.

And they quickly found out just how big of a predator they were dealing with. Hell, comparing her to a lioness would probably be an insult to the blonde, she was a monster, a demon.

When they moved she was already out the way, when they tried to overpower her she batted them away with a hand.

Despite the fact it was two on one, Heidi and Rhonda felt outnumbered. They also found themselves groaning on the ground in pain.

It had took Buffy all of twenty seconds to subdue them and even then she had to snort. Yeah, they were stronger than an average vampire but they weren't all that much smarter... Actually they might have been a bit dumber.

Hearing Xander still struggling with his opponent, actually brought a bit of a smile to her face. It was nice to have someone watching her back that she didn't have to really worry about. If what he told Giles was right he could take on a vamp all by himself, which was stupid, and win. Now if they could just fix that anger problem that's been showing up then they'd be great.

Turning around to offer her friend help she started saying "Hey, Xand, you need a litt..." She stopped mid word at what she was seeing.

Xander wasn't struggling with his opponent, he was holding him up by his tearing t and punching the other boy's face bloody.

"Xander!" Buffy rushed over and grabbed his arm "Xander stop it!"

Xander's arm tensed as he tried to use all his strength and weight to continue the punch. Seeing herself being lifted off the ground caused Buffy to glare at him and force more pressure down on his arm.

The boy winced, his arm felt like it about to snap in two if one of them didn't give and he was guessing the Red Ranger wasn't going to give up anytime soon. So he relented.

Didn't stop him from growling at her though. "Why did you stop me?"

Buffy, still wrapped around his arm, gave him a stern glare "You, were, killing, him." Even if the tone sounded like she was scolding a child there was a tint of ice in every word.

"He's dangerous, they're dangerous." His voice a low growl as he glared back "They should be killed."

Despite the situation Buffy groaned "We've been over this, they're people who need help." God! How many times was she going to have to repeat that to him. The whole situation was just one big broken record. "Now put him down and help me get them out of here before somebody wonders what all that noise was about."

Again Xander did as he was told, becoming vaguely annoyed with himself for doing every little damn thing she said. Didn't mean he was gentle about it though.

* * *

><p>When Giles returned to the library he found that his request had been denied and that his young acquaintances went ahead and went after the possessed anyway. There locked in his book cage were four teens bound with what looked like a leash, a jacket and a torn up gym shirt. He didn't think that any of the restraints would last but luckily they were all out cold.<p>

He turned to the kidnapper, only really expecting two out of the three of them to actually have anything to do with it, and asked with a sigh "What happened?"

Buffy shifted in her seat feeling a little nervous "They were going to eat Herbert."

Giles sighed again, accepting the excuse. If possessed were about to kill and slaughter a person then of course they had to intervene.

"Still don't see why we had to save the damn pig."

Giles frowned. Now Xander could have the excuse of being affected by what was an apparent spirit possession but there was really no need to rude, especially when it was a victim.

"But it wouldn't be right just to let him get eaten." Willow defended Buffy's decision "Besides he's so cute!"

"I know right!" Buffy agreed whole heartily with a nod.

"Still a pig."

"Yes..." Giles drawled, suddenly feeling like he was missing something "That aside, my trip to the zoo has considerably narrowed our search."

"That's good right?" Buffy asked "Because it definitely sounds of the good."

Giles suppressed a grimace at the butchering of his native language "If 'of the good' you mean I have a possible solution then yes, yes it is." He said as he started to strum his fingers along a series of volumes trying to find the right books "With a little more research and this should all be a memory."

"That's great!" Willow cheered. That meant she was going to get her Xander back! He was all grumpy and angry now... well more than usual. But still she wanted her 'less likely to snap at her' friend back.

Giles gave a hum of acknowledgement as he found the appropriate volume. As he thought of Sherman Jefferies did have a section on Primals, not surprising given the man's obsession with the phenomena of possessions, but it seemed while detailed, the entry was limited.

And by limited he meant it didn't tell how to end the spell. It had the cause, the effects but not the cure.

Well, that just meant he had to improvise. Not something you usually want to hear when dealing with magic.

Giles squinted his eyes as he pulled out his little note book and went over what he knew and what could be done. And it all added up to a headache and at least a few hours' worth of work.

* * *

><p>As the other dug through the books and Giles made constant notes in his little journal Xander found himself restless.<p>

He tried to sit down and help flip through pages for something that might be useful, but he couldn't. Something ached in him to move, to hunt, to act. His body burned for action.

He eventually decided that push-ups were a better use of his time. The others looked at him oddly, Willow even going so far as to ask him why he was doing that, and when he explained they left him alone. Though the tone may have been a factor in his solitude.

But unlike usual his pushups these were not relaxing him, the constant motion was not sending him into a near meditative state. He didn't feel calm, he felt angry and oddly frightened, skittish. Which in turned angered him more.

What probably made the whole situation worse was that his 'busy work' lacked it usual strain. That little tug and burn in his arms that told him he was making progress was nowhere to be found. It was like he was bench pressing a feather.

Still, he kept up the charade of a work out just to occupy himself.

The others did their best to ignore him as they went about their business. In honesty in was Giles doing all the real work while Buffy and Willow making a token effort. In truth Buffy wasn't even reading the book in front of her, spending more time altering her gaze from Xander to their caged guests. There was little guess as to why.

Willow, despite her fervent wish to help and 'cure' Xander, had lost herself in her current book; finding every little tidbit fascinating.

Giles on the other hand had multiple tomes in front of him, scribbling something in his little note-book. Every so often he would mutter something about how 'that wouldn't work' or some variation of the line.

And none of that mattered to Xander. What mattered was that it was still at least an hour before dusk and he had nothing to do but wait.

"Traitor" The word chilled him and froze everybody in the room.

They all turned to the source of the noise and saw four pairs of eyes staring back at them. No, they weren't staring at Buffy, Giles or Willow; their eyes were solely locked on Xander's nervous frame.

"Traitor. Traitor. Traitor."

The muttered word escaped all their lips as twisted in their binds, straining all of them to the point of snapping.

As the possessed students rose from their slumber and started to pry at the book cage, displaying their inhuman strength, Giles swore. "The deterioration is progressing worse than I feared." He had been using Xander as a measuring stick for how bad the other children were getting but obviously he had underestimated the boy's will to fight off the invading spirit.

And considering he wasn't a drooling lunatic like the others seemed to be; that was actually saying something.

"Deterioration? What deterioration?"

Giles ignored the question and snagged his note book. His mismatched and improvised reversal ritual was rough and combined a few different magics that never met but it would have to do. "I'll explain later. For now we need to head to the zoo." Giles shifted his gaze firmly to Buffy "Try to lure them there if you can."

Buffy gave a serious nod as she braced herself to hold off the possessed if she had to.

Xander stood frozen for a second, shrinking slightly under glares and constant chanting, but forced himself to move next to Buffy. As a hero should.

Giles, who was pushing Willow out the door in a rush, paused "Xander maybe it would better if you came with us."

He shook his head, "Fight's here."

Giles really hoped that was just an American macho line and not Xander's own deterioration because they did not need that now, "And the fight will soon be at the zoo, where it needs to be."

And the fact that the hyena possessed were eyeing him like a gazelle didn't hurt either. But Giles didn't think the boy would want to know he was being used as bait.

Xander gave him a look, then glanced at Buffy and back again.

"Oh, would you go already." Buffy said shooing him away, really not wanting a repeat of earlier.

Xander gave her a look similar to a kicked puppy but eventually he nodded and followed the rest of the group out.

Giving the retreating figures one last glance Buffy turned her attention to crumbling cage and rolled her shoulders.

She could do this.

After all, it was just four super powered crazy people. She dealt with that like every other night.

How bad could this be?

* * *

><p>The ride to the zoo was tense. Giles going over a list in his head of what he would have to do, Willow fretting over the whole situation and Xander constantly fidgeting in the back seat of the car.<p>

The only sound that was actually heard in the car was the engine and the occasional "Can't you go any faster?" from Xander.

When they arrived at the Zoo Giles didn't even bother to properly park the car. He just left it in front of gate and was probably breaking a few dozen traffic laws but it honestly didn't matter to him at the moment.

One employee tried to stop them as they advanced towards the Hyena Pit but after saying they were there to see Dr. Weirick they were left alone. But the way the employee scrunched up his face at the mention of the man strengthened Giles suspicions of the man they were supposedly seeking.

Ducking underneath the ropes that quarantined the area the British native started issuing orders "Willow, help me prepare, Xander, guard the entrance." Giles didn't even acknowledge Xander's over eager nod as he passed Willow a marker and started to tell her what to draw and where. He just hoped a red sharpie would be a suitable replacement for blood or other heavy metal paints.

* * *

><p>Buffy was more than fully willing to admit she was wrong.<p>

She'd admit that she was very, very wrong.

In just a handful of hours the possessed teens became over a dozen times stronger than they were before, not to mention more feral.

Seriously drool everywhere.

Luckily though she still proved herself the faster one as she landed a few last hits and raced out of the building. Did she even have to say how creepy it was to have glowing eyed giggling people chasing after you?

Still, enhanced or not, they were nowhere near as fast as she was. Forcing her to pause in her run every once in a while so they could catch up a bit. And during those brief pauses she wondered what the passerby's were thinking.

Seeing a little blonde girl being chased by a bunch of crazies and all.

She actually saw some people turn their heads away as they ran by. She didn't know what to think about that and she didn't have time to.

Buffy raced down the street and cut through every alley and across lawns she could to get to the zoo as fast as she could. In one side street Buffy was treated to the rather humorous sight of a freshly awakened and hungry vampire squeak like a little girl when it saw what was chasing its potential snack.

As the zoo's gate came into sight Buffy hoped that everyone else was ready. Because she was not fighting those four again.

* * *

><p>Giles grimaced at the crudely drawn runes that circled the initial magical array. Even if necessity was pushing for it he did not like this slapstick ritual. True he spent the better part of at least two hours trying to get it to be... acceptable but he still didn't like it.<p>

Magic at anytime is a dangerous thing, something comparable to rolling explosives by hand, and when dealing with magic that was not naturally produced by your own body you were just poking the already irritable creature.

Despite that though, they didn't have much of a choice. They had to save these children, and if not, at least Xander. The boy didn't deserve to lose his mind due to another's depraved wish for power.

Speaking of which, Giles took his eyes off the circle for a moment to take a judging glance at Xander. The boy was antsy. He wouldn't stop moving somehow, someway. Pacing, bouncing on the balls of his feet, shadow boxing. Always moving, always angry.

While the boy didn't seem to be as bad off as the other children, thank God for small blessings, he was still obviously affected. The way he seemed to be cowed by Buffy's, and surprisingly Willow's voices, and instantly got angry a moment later proved that Xander was fighting whatever influence the animal spirit was trying to instill in him.

He had to commend the boy for his force of will later but for right now, they had to wait. Wait for his Slayer to out power and out run four possessed children with, if his estimates were correct, comparable strength to her own.

Good God, he wished he could have stayed, he wished that there was even a reasonable reason for him to stay but he was needed at the zoo to prepare. Prepare for the chance that they could save five innocent lives.

Part of him knew it was for the best, that it was the right decision but that little nagging part of his mind screamed at him that he shouldn't have left that little girl to fight on her own.

Was this the life of a Slayer and a Watcher pair? This is what the Council glorified?

It left a worse taste in his mouth than he thought it would.

"Ah! You're back!" A voice yelled intruding on his thoughts, and causing both the teens with him to jump in surprise "Did you find any new information?" The Zookeeper entered the exhibit with an eager expression clear on his face.

Giles didn't blink, he didn't hesitate, the situation was too dire "Xander restrain him."

In retrospect, not his best choice.

Xander moved as soon as the words left Giles' mouth, eager to do something and caring for a reason. The teen's attack only took two definitive movements, a hooked ankle and a shoulder slam. The combination of which, including his now enhanced strength, caused the man to fall painfully to the floor.

As the doctor groaned on the floor Xander none too gently took a step on his chest to keep him in place.

"Next time try to be a bit more gentle Xander." Giles said trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible "We still need information after all."

"My bad" there was no repentance in his voice.

"I, I take it this is one of the possessed children" They could all hear it, passed his pained voice; anger, curiosity. He wasn't even trying to hide it anymore. Or if he was, he wasn't doing a very good job.

"Yes, and I'm sure he would very much like to know why you decided it was a good idea to shove a hyena spirit into him." Xander growled lightly at that and started to dig his heel into the man's chest.

To his credit the man didn't flinch "It wasn't meant to be his." the captured man hissed, not in pain but in frustration "It was meant to be mine."

Oh this should be interesting.

And it was. The man went into a rather detailed account about his goal about how he worked to learn the secrets of the Primals and how he was going ascend passed his human limitations.

Honestly it was a rather dry little spiel, so much so that he fully agreed with Xander's groan about Bond Villains. Thank God Willow arrived with the duct tape in time, he was starting to consider Xander's offer to punch him unconscious.

Though he was left with a dilemma. What was he going to do with him?

The doctor was human not a demon so he couldn't just kill him. if for nothing else than for his conscience's sake. And he couldn't just let the man go, the zookeeper knew enough that he would just do the whole insane spell over again and probably come back seeking revenge.

Not that he could do anything at the moment though. Because as soon as they secured the good doctor Buffy's voice echoed through the room as if on cue. "They're right behind me!"

Xander licked his lips as they entered, waiting a split second for Buffy to get by before he power tackled the four teens into the circle. He tried to step back, away from the array that would depower him, but something stopped him. Like an invisible steel wall blocking his path.

NO! This was his power! His strength.

"Let me out!" he yelled as his hand slammed against the invisible wall, making a colorless shimmer spread across the supposed surface. The giggles and whispers of "traitor" rose in volume behind him. He ignored them in favor of slamming again and again on the wall, even as hands clenched onto him.

Giles did his best to ignore it all. Xander's screams of outrage as he pounded on the spirit repelling ward, Willow and Buffy's questions and concerns, and that twice damned zookeeper's muffled grunts.

The Latin words spewed clumsily from his mouth as he forced the power into them. Mind you, he was quite fluent in Latin but when you bring magic into it it was an entirely different language.

Xander's ragged slamming all but stopped with the second word as he and the other children arched their backs. All the laughing abruptly stopped with the action leaving only wide open mouths and glowing green eyes.

Watching Xander's face contort in pain Willow started to yell and beg at Giles "Stop! You're hurting him!" She tried to make a move to stop him but Buffy restrained her with a firm hand. Willow wanted to yell at her too but when she saw what Buffy's eyes were locked onto she stopped.

Green wisp of smoke started to leak from their ears, noses, and mouths before taking the rough shape of grinning dogs. Their teeth bared as they let out a series of howling giggles.

The unleashed spirits slammed against the various walls of the barrier trying to escape but found only one path. The path back to their first prison. They had to chose between returning to the land of the physical in a cage or remain afloat as withering spirits in that circle.

To trade one prison for another.

But at least in one prison they would be able to feel.

The sprits twisted into near streams of energy as they raced back to their original bodies, effectively abandoning their human hosts as lumps on the floor as they left.

Giles grimaced as he started to move, his neglected and polluted magic had showed its displeasure spectacularly as the figurative recoil slammed into his body as the spell ended.

Willow was the second to move, right after Giles as he stumbled to keep his balance, reaching Xander at impressive speeds.

She knelt down next to her friend and gently touched his shoulder "Xander," She gave him a brief shake  
>"Xander? Are you okay?"<p>

"It's gone" he didn't even bother to move, his eyes clouding with emotion as he looked at the ceiling "All that power, it's just gone." He could've made a difference. He had the power to make all the difference and now it was gone.

All gone.

Buffy watched on, more than a little worried for their male friend. They were all hoping he would go back to his usual mopey self after they removed the spirit but now he seemed like a deflated balloon.

So wrapped up in her thoughts she barely had time to move as four panicked teens fled the scene. They didn't know what was going on and only had half an idea on how they got there. So they followed their instincts, or common sense, and got as far away from there as they could.

"You're welcome!" Petty? Yes, she knew. But they almost ran her over. Not cool.

But, wait, if they were able to get up and run already what was wrong with Xander? Did he go from just plain mopey to cationic mopey?

Willow seemed to notice that too as she managed to coaxed the boy up. "Come on Xander, let's get you home."

Xander tried to brush her off and say he was fine by standing up but found his legs wobbling under him. He tried to ignore it and take a step but he ended up stumbling to his knees.

"Xander!" Willow was beside him again in an instant. "Are you okay?" Her head snapped towards the recuperating librarian "Why isn't he okay?"

"I-I'm sure he's fine." Giles got out after one final steadying breath "Though he is probably rather exhausted from the ordeal. More so then the others since he was actively fighting the possession's influence."

Willow placed a hand against her friend's flushed skin "Giles is he supposed to be burning up? Because he's burning up! Should I get an ice pack or is this one of those 'the normal way will just make things worse' things?"

Giles fighting off the lingering effects of the spell made his way over to look over the boy, who was trying and failing to stand. The middle aged man knew through experience that possessions didn't just go away. They leave a "scar" on their victims that rarely fades. How large of one could only be told with time.

But right now Xander wasn't dealing with the scar, he was dealing with the gaping wound that needed stitches.

The fever, while a bit abnormal, wasn't all that uncommon. Most experienced something not all that different from a hangover. Xander being the one who fought off the invasion of his body was basically the fool at the party who drank all the beer. It was no surprise all those movies about possessions had puking in them.

But he should be fine after a good night's sleep, something he voiced out loud to the girls.

"So he's alright?"

Giles refrained from rolling his eyes. The girls were worried it wouldn't be right of him, even if she had him repeat the same thing three times. "Yes. Now help me get him to the car." Because he could barely move his own body.

* * *

><p>Xander was dropped off into his bed with the excuse of a book case falling on him. He didn't know whether or not it was lucky that his father was drunk enough to believe it or unlucky that Giles and Buffy had to see his father like that. Hell, he hated Willow knowing about his dad's problems he didn't want the rest of his friends knowing.<p>

Speaking of, Giles had explicitly ordered him to rest for the remainder of the night and the next day if need be. And once he was able to walk without tripping over his own feet he was to report immediately to the library to find any... side effect from the nights activities.

He actually hoped there were. Some little module of extra strength or enhanced senses left over. Something that he could use, any advantage.

Xander raised his hand and just started at it as he flexed it open and closed.

He could still feel his Magic Circuits slowly cooling beneath his skin. Earlier, after the spirit was taken from him, they felt like they were on fire and were burning his bones. Apparently a spirit keeping the pathways opened and running was a bad thing.

But power came at a cost... and responsibility.

Something he had forgotten on his little power trip and that he was kicking himself in the ass over it the whole way back to his house.

How in the world could he forget comic book 101?

With great power comes great responsibility. Not the ability to snap and go off like the Hulk.

... Actually he was acting more like Wolverine but that was beside the point. The point was that he screwed up and let something screw with his head.

Even if it did give him some benefits he should have noticed what it was doing to him. Dumbing him down, making him more aggressive, fearful.

Batman wouldn't have fallen into that pitfall. He would have fought it off better. Done something sooner.

"Tsk" he rested the back of his hand against his eyes. He felt so frustrated, both from the loss of power and becoming drunk off it.

It was just more proof that he wasn't ready yet. Something he loathed to admit but he would keep working at it. Keep striving at it.

He'd be there someday and hopefully it would be soon and on his terms.

**An:**

Hopefully this will be by update rate now, at least two chapters a month. I can't promise it because of my hectic life but I will try.

And tell me what you think about this story/chapter. And a big thanks to Oxnate for betaing this chapter.

Peace.


	8. Chapter 8

**I have no excuse besides laziness. Still I offer my apologies. I can only hope I gave you quality enough to enjoy.**

***Beta-ed by Oxnate*  
><strong>

**Chapter eight: No Such Things As Angels**

* * *

><p>Giles sighed as he laid down his pen and idly wondered if the other Watchers ever felt as troubled as he did.<p>

He supposed he have should felt relieved that he was no longer holding a man hostage in his apartment but he could only imagine what was going to happen to the zookeeper now. Interrogation, execution... experimentation.

The Watcher's Council gave no quarter in its war. If there was an advantage, they would push it with little in the way of morals or hesitation.

Just thinking about it made him all the more doubt the letters he was writing. Letters containing recommendations of recruitment for Alexander Harris and Willow Rosenberg. Both had shown promise in different fields and could easily be of a great help when they came of age.

Willow was proving herself an eager student and could easily slide her way into the Research Department, which he was involved in before becoming an 'active' Watcher. Add that eagerness to her natural intelligence you had a born researcher towards any field, even if he was recommending that they had her spear head the more technological side of things.

And Xander, that boy had an intensity, an anger to him, that seemed to scream future Hunter. And despite the groups unsavory nature Giles would rather have Xander working with a team of the Watcher's Wet Work agents than be by himself.

The boy was showing promise for it anyway. His archery was getting much better, to the point he wasn't sure practice was going to slow the boy down any longer. Add to that his intensive study in just about anything Giles placed in front of him and the apparent Martial Arts lessons he was taking, or so Buffy complained, Xander would join the fight soon.

In a much greater capacity than before.

And then there was the surprising discovery he found while examining the boy for post possession damage. The boy was showed signs of magical exhaustion and over use. Meaning one of three possible things, off the top of his head that is.

One, the boy had innate access to his well of magic and it was fighting off the invading spirit.

Two, said spirit activated and was drawing on the boy's well of power. And if that was the case then the other children needed to be found and examined.

Or three, the boy was delving in things that he should not have. At least not without supervision.

Any of the three possibilities demanded intervention of some kind. And soon if the pattern of self taught magi followed.

Corruption or death.

* * *

><p>Deep breath in, deep breath out.<p>

Nock the arrow.

"Contact."

Deep breath in, deep breath out.

Start to draw back the arrow, analyze the structure.

Begin to Reinforce and strengthen weak points.

Deep breath in.

Take sight of the target. Lightly coat the head with power, sharpen the tip.

Breath out, release.

As the arrow flew through the air it seemed to be nothing special. Only moving slightly faster than any other arrow but it was when it hit its mark that anything out of the ordinary came to view. The triple layered cardboard target, make shift of course, was cut clean through as the arrow was buried up to its fletching in tree bark.

But despite the rather impressive effect Xander was disappointed.

It took him three seconds to get that result.

In three seconds a vampire would notice him and dodge the arrow before it even took flight. Meaning he would miss by default. He already experienced what happened when the first strike missed and the second shot was slow.

He was actually considering that it wasn't the arrow he should be trying to improve but the bow. Maybe he should reinforce the string to make it more taunt, give the arrow more force when released. Making it harder, making it move faster.

But at the moment all he had was one bow. Arrows were relatively cheap to replace but a new bow, no matter how much he wanted a larger, and stronger, bow would cost more than the money got from his "allowance" of recycling his dad's beer bottles.

And he didn't want to risk his bow. Despite everything it held a certain amount of sentimental value.

Maybe he could see if Giles had any lying around anywhere.

With only a bare few left over thoughts Xander tried to his arrow out of the tree. It took a bit of work but he managed to dislodge it. Despite how deep it went in the arrow lodged itself in a relatively straight and clean cut line.

Which meant he didn't ruin another perfectly good arrow due to magic. Which was good because he was already down half his stock because of that.

Looking at the remains of his target he let out a tsk. It was completely ruined. He wasn't expecting it to last but falling apart after two "Magic shots" was just sad. The other targets he brought with him lasted at least four.

Mournful that his target practice was coming to an end, he tossed the ruined target with the others and grabbed his duffel bag. After placing his archery gear where it belonged he grabbed a pair of stakes and got into a fighting stance.

His fighting style was coming along, still bumpy and rigid in portions but evolving well. Most of his movements still held that straight forward nature of his Boxing trial but his lessons in Eskrima were plain to see. He rarely ever practiced bare handed anymore. There was almost always a stake, or arrow for those emergency situations, in them.

Still though, he was going to find a new trial to take now that the Eskrima one was done. He needed to know more, he needed to be stronger.

The possession gave him a taste of something, power, domination of the opponent, the ability to actually win a fight.

All of that set a goal in his mind.

A line drawn that he had to surpass. To the point that he could hypothetically beat the ever living crap out of his possessed self.

Step by step he would reach that goal and with each step he would be closer to the Hero he needed to be.

* * *

><p>Willow had called last night and tried to get him to go to the annual Fumigation Party at the Bronze but he skeezed his way out of it. So he was ready and prepared for a full on verbal assault he was going to receive when he entered the school grounds.<p>

With such ammo as 'You never spend any time with me anymore!' that would be quickly followed by watery eyes and a quivering lip. Such an attack could be lethal if not avoided or side stepped.

So to his grateful surprise he ran into Buffy first saying something happened the night prior after she left the Bronze. Apparently she had called Giles earlier and they were going to have a meeting in the library.

Did it make him disturbed that he was looking forward to whatever the trouble was? Probably a little but so far whenever something bad happened they put it down hard. So it in a weird way it was a good thing if they ran into trouble, it meant another monster was about to die.

And it got him out of a lecture, so it was probably the best possible thing to happen all things considered.

As the trio entered the library Giles looked up from his logs. "Ah, excellent timing. I was hoping to have a word with you Xander."

Said boy blinked "Uh, okay?" In his experience when an adult wanted to talk to you there was something bad about to come, lectures, yelling, you need to do so and so to pass the grade.

But Giles was cool, for a guy over... 40? So it couldn't be that bad, right?

"That can wait." Buffy said, interrupting whatever conversation was about to happen. "Something happened last night."

Giles mid attempted reprimand stopped, seemed torn, and then relented "What happened?"

"I got my butt kicked."

There was a long pause of silence as everyone processed that little bit of information. Buffy hasn't lost yet, sure she got tossed around a bit but never beaten. The closest she came to that was when Amy's mom drugged her and no one could really count that.

So Xander said what was on all their minds "Uh, can you say that again? And maybe with a little more detail this time?"

Buffy rolled her eyes at the comment but did so, citing her abrupt attack outside of the local club by three armored vampires and Angel's timely intervention. Xander made special note that vampires really couldn't enter a home uninvited.

The report soon degraded to a gossip session as Willow pointed out how romantic it was when Buffy offered to bandage Angel. Buffy was more than willing to give details, which caused both males to roll their eyes and find something more productive to do.

As Giles went through his stack to find an old book on known vampire groups Xander dug through his back pack for his current 'required reading'.

As he flipped through the pages to pick up where he left off he kept a half ear to the girls' conversation. He tried to tell himself it wasn't any of his business and that Buffy could take care of herself, but all the same she was his friend. He worried.

Then again, Slayer equals super strength. And what that super strength could do to a guy that got too handsy made Xander wince in sympathy.

Still... He did always want to do one of those Big Brother speeches. Since Willow's first boyfriend wouldn't get one, he would be the example of what happens to boys when they hurt Xander's little sister.

It would be a VERY clear message.

"Can we steer this riveting conversation back to the events that happened earlier in the evening?" Giles asked as he returned from the stacks and placed an open book in front of Buffy, " Did they look like this?"

"Yeah that's them," Her voice slightly disappointed from the interrupted girl time, "So what's with the uniforms?"

Giles gave himself a proud nod, "It seems you encountered the Three. Warrior vampires, very proud and very strong."

"How do you know all this stuff?" Willow asked, jealous despite herself. "You always know what's going on. I never know what's going on."

Giles waved her off, "Experience and cataloging. Give it a few years I'm sure you'll catch up."

"Oh." What more could be said?

"Uh, o-obviously you're hurting the Master very much. He, he wouldn't send the, the Three for just anyone. We must step up our training with weapons." He said a bit nervously, mostly because she hasn't shown enough discipline for such training but needs must.

"You don't seem all that worried about the samurai dudes Giles." Xander pointed out.

"Of the three? No, I am not. T-the Master has never been reported to take failure well." Giles reassured relieving Buffy slightly, "But eventually the Master will send someone else, but in the mean time the Three, having failed, will offer their own lives in penance."

Buffy scowled "Do you always have to be about the doom and gloom?"

Giles simply rolled his eyes and prayed that the bell would ring soon.

For his sanity more than anything.

* * *

><p>Xander and Willow arrived at the library a few minutes after the bells rang. Xander going because Giles still wanted a word with him and Willow because that's where Xander was going.<p>

And, to be honest with herself, to get to some of Giles book. Being around someone that knew more than her was both intimidating and annoying.

"Ah, you two are earlier than I expected." The librarian said as the two entered and he continued his work of picking up the numerous books the American students have left thrown all about. Really, it was like they had no respect for another's property.

Then again, teenagers.

Xander shrugged, "I figured it would be better just to get it out of the way." He said easily enough though he was fretting inside. This conversation was still making him incredibly nervous and it had been weighing on his mind all day.

He just wanted it over and done with.

"Yes, yes, that would be best..." Giles said as he tried to work out how long the conversation would be in his head and how much time he had to give Buffy to get her familiar with the basics, "Just give me a moment to put these, somewhere." Gesturing to the book in his arms.

It pained him to put if off till later but it was probably best.

After placing the books on a nearby cart Giles gestured for Xander to follow him to his office, "It would probably be best if we had this discussion in private." He spared a glance over to Willow, "This conversation may lead to some rather personal matters"

Xander gave the red head a look too, wondering if he should really care. After all she was his Willow. She knew just about everything about him and he was probably going to tell her anyway.

But the look in Giles eyes brokered no room for argument. And again Xander's nerves sky rocketed.

"Okay, sure."

Willow did her best not to look indignant or puff out her cheeks in indignation but she failed as the two males vanished into the other room.

"So what ch'a want to talk about?" Xander asked as he fell down into a chair, trying to sound as carefree as he possibly could.

"A few things actually." Giles said as he debated whether or not he should sit down. Despite his exposure as the school librarian and his recent adventures with his Slayer and her friends he still found it difficult to deal with teens. Especially teens of the American and digital age variety.

Eventually he took his seat and started to word the information in his mind. After a few seconds of thought, just enough time to make Xander start to squirm in discomfort, he began with a slight cough and a customary stutter "I-I guess it would be easiest to begin with the simple facts."

Xander gave a small nod to that, feeling incredibly like the small child sent to the principal's office for some reason.

"Yes, well, it would seem you were showing signs of magic over use, something that probably felt very painful at the time. And, uh, seeing such signs I thought it best to talk to you sooner rather than later." Giles shifted awkwardly in his own seat wondering how exactly to say what he wanted to, "It would appear that you now have, or already had, active magic within you and it was actively resisting the spirit's influence over you."

"Oh." That hurt his pride a little since, while he was disappointed in himself, he was a little proud of how well he fought off the hyena. Considering how the others turned into mindless slobbering lunatics and he didn't.

"Quiet." Giles gave a nod thinking the boy's response was because of curiosity or that he was following along. So with that train of thought he continued, "Now having active magic in oneself can be a very dangerous thing if not properly educated."

"I've been doing fine on my own, you don't need to worry." The statement was with more than a little indignation in it. He's been practicing on his for a few months now and in his opinion was making decent progress.

Giles stiffened ever so slightly at the boy's sentence, "Does that mean you were already aware of your internal reserves?" He had half expected this but it didn't mean he liked it.

"Um, yeah." Xander shifted a little bit under the Brit's gaze. "I've got a few spells near down pat already."

"You bloody idiot." Giles amazed himself with his ability to keep his voice at a reasonable volume. "Are you telling me that you were not only aware of but were actively practicing the Craft?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?" Giles growled, his voice doing that weird thing where his accent slipped into something rougher, as he pointed his finger at the table in a subconscious way to get his point across, "Do you even realize what you have done to yourself? What you could have summoned? What you could have bound yourself to?"

"I'm no one's butt monkey!" the boy responded irritably "I've been building my own magic veins and using my OWN power to practice spells."

"Building?" The word finally clicked in place as he processed Xander's outburst, "What type of rubbish have you've been reading?"

Xander glared at him defiant for a moment, debating giving anything up but his conscious made him cave. Giles has done alot for him over the last few months, to just deny him any sort of answer and storming out wasn't really the most mature, or heroic, thing to do... at the moment.

So he told him where he got the books. The look on the older man's face said that he was not pleased.

* * *

><p>Willow strained her ears trying to listen in to the conversation on the other side of the door. She didn't really want to eavesdrop per say, but it wasn't right that they were hiding stuff from their group.<p>

Especially if it was about Xander.

She couldn't really make anything out but there were some raised voices every once in a while. Something about books and them being dangerous.

How could books be dangerous?

Well, she couldn't really dismiss anything anymore now could she?

"Hey Willow." Buffy called out louder than necessary, causing the red head to jump in response and giving herself a giggling fit.

"That's not funny!" Willow complained, her face red from shock and embarrassment.

Buffy started to regain control of herself, "Yes it was." In response Willow gave a pout that made Buffy feel a little guilty. "But only a bit."

The glare she received made it clear that the red head was not reassured. "So, uh, what are you doing?"

Another blush spread over Willow's face, "Nothing!"

With a raised eye brow Buffy said, "Oh, Really?" drawing out the L's to show she was obviously skeptical.

"Really." She said with as much conviction as she could before there was another bout of raised voices rose from the room.

Buffy blinked as the voices took her by surprise, her enhanced hearing picking up every other word in her off balanced state. "Wow. What's going on in there?" So far she was able to translate Giles saying something about being irresponsible and foolish while Xander kept on insisting that he could handle it.

Whatever "it" was.

Willow crossed her arms and looked at the door like it kicked her puppy, "I don't know. Giles said it was private and that Xander might not want others to hear it."

Buffy felt a small pang of guilt as she tried to dampen her hearing just a bit. Sure she liked to gossip and hear dirty little secrets but this was her friend. He deserved a little privacy. Besides if it was really important Giles and Xander would tell the rest of them.

It was probably about that Hyena thing anyway. Giles said that there were going to be some lingering effects and they were probably just talking about it right now and Xander was acting like the typical boy who thought he could handle it on his own.

She said as much to Willow and the red head nodded, seconding the stupid boy part whole heartedly.

There was a slam in the other room that made both of them jump. No one need enhanced hearing to make out Xander yelling that he wasn't an idiot and he knew what he was doing. Giles said something at a much lower volume but they could just hear the menace in it.

A moment later Xander yelled something that ended with a "You!" as he came storming out of the room, not even noticing the girls who had toppled over to get out of the way as he exited the library.

Back in the office Giles was counting to an unknown number to calm himself. That really could have gone better but his own anger at the boy's stupid risk didn't mesh well with his apparent independent habits.

He just hoped that they could break through it to help Xander before he got himself killed or worse.

* * *

><p>Xander would admit that he didn't handle that well. Yelling and storming out really wasn't very heroic or nice. Especially if someone was just trying to help but Giles didn't have to yell at him like that.<p>

He was alive and relatively unharmed from his magic, wasn't it proof enough that he knew what he was doing?

Bah, Giles could believe whatever he wanted. Right now Xander need to calm down a bit, really wishing he was still in his boxing classes so he could lash out at a bag.

And since he didn't feel like shadow boxing or going over forms, didn't have the same satisfaction, he decided to head to the local comic book store to relax. It's been a while and he needed to update his collection.

A little more than an hour later he'd have a bag full of Green Arrow, Hawkeye, Punisher and Batman comics. A bit of a toll on his wallet but well worth it in his mind. Especially after he made the excuse of finding new training methods within the pages.

* * *

><p>Buffy hummed quietly to herself as she bound up the stairs.<p>

Her day started off kind of wonky because, well, assassins, and then it turned out pretty weird when Giles and Xander decided to have a shouting match at each other that the older man refused to elaborate more on besides "He's being a bloody idiot".

After that though it got pretty fun. Weapons training with a bo staff and then a crossbow! Probably better than Xander's silly old bow.

While those were fun she enjoyed her girl talk with Willow more. It was one of the most normal things she could still do, to still have.

Sure the red head was a little sulky at first, what with Xander storming out earlier, but she joined the boy talk in earnest.

And speaking of boys.

"Angel?" She whispered out as she opened her bedroom door. A giddy sort of excitement started to boil in her stomach. While this wasn't the first time she snuck a boy up to her room it wasn't even close to the double digits.

So she felt totally entitled to the blush that creeped up her neck and cheeks as he called out from the shadows of her closet.

"Hey." His deep tone whispered out as he entered her sight.

God he was hot.

Wide shouldered, strong features, deep brown eyes, and all of that wrapped up into a fashionable package. God the way he looked it was hard to believe he was a Vampire Hunter... Because he has no scars or bruising, not that he was too pretty for that type of thing... Okay he was but so was she, no that wasn't narcissistic! It was just that two good looking people like them should have better things to do at night... alone... in a bedroom.

And she needed to stop rambling in her head now.

Taking the time to collect herself she turned on her desk light and turned back to him, holding up a bag of food between them. "Brought you some dinner. It's a little plateless, sorry."

Angel took the offered food out of her hands and stared at like he didn't know what to do with it. Thus causing an awkward silence that Buffy didn't know what to do with.

"So!" She started, breaking any semblance of quite in the room, " What'd you do all day?"

Angel himself trying to work through the awkward silence did his best to come up with an answer other than sleep, "Uh, I read a little."

Read?

What did she have in her room that was worth reading?

Looking around briefly she took stock of her room. There was nothing really in the way of reading material there. A few text books she brought home and never took back to her locker, and not much else.

She wasn't a big reader.

As she looked around for what he possibly could have read Angel started talking, as he finally found what he needed to say what he wanted to say. "And just thought about a lot of things." For some reason the words were harder to get out than he though, "Buffy, I..."

"My Diary?" She said before he could continue. She didn't notice it before but it was out of place, actually laying out in the open for the world to see. "You read my Diary?"

Rage boiled up in her as she snatched the book up and shoved it into a drawer. "That is NOT okay! A diary is like a person's most private place!" She hissed out, obviously flustered by the turn of events. " I... You don't even know what I was writing about! 'Hunk' can mean a lot of things, bad things. And, and when it says that your eyes are 'penetrating', I meant to write 'bulging'."

"Buffy."

" And 'A' doesn't even stand for 'Angel' for that matter, it stands for... 'Achmed', a charming foreign exchange student, so that whole fantasy part has nothing to even do with you at all..." She ranted on until Angel's way too amused voice interrupted her again.

"Your mother moved your diary when she came in to straighten up. I watched from the closet. I didn't read it, I swear."

"Oh!" She said as first realizing that she jumped to the wrong conclusion before repeating the word again with her checks ablaze and looked down as she realized what she said, "Oh."

"I did a lot of thinking today." He said picking up where he left off before, "I really can't be around you." That caused her head to snap back up to look at his averting gaze. "Because when I am,"

She looked down again, depression just flowing from her, "Hey, no big. Water... over the bridge, under the bridge..."

"When I am all I can ever think about is how badly I want to kiss you." He said, gently interrupting her.

"...over the dam..." Again her mouth was quicker than her grasp of the situation, "Kiss me?"

Angel shook his head as if dissuading her and himself of the notion," I'm older than you," As if that wasn't obvious already, "and this can't ever... I better go."

"H-how much older?" Her voice strongly implied that she didn't really care. Making it all the harder for Angel to reign control of himself.

"I should..."

Buffy approached him, "...go... You said..."

The distance between them closed even more as Buffy raised her head enough to give him a rather chaste peck of the lips. For a second he didn't respond to the contact but when she delivered the second kiss all the dams broke and he returned the affectionate gesture.

God, she tasted incredible. Her warm little tongue playing against his as the kiss depended. The warm little appendage just swirling around in his mouth, just waiting for that one little bite...

Forcibly he pushed he away, afraid of what he might do.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?" Buffy asked wondering what caused him the sudden pain he was feeling and if she was the cause of it.

Her hand flinches away as he turns towards her and snarls. His mouth filled with numerous crooked yellow fangs and his feral golden eyes shadowed by thick rigged brows.

For once her Slayer instinct wasn't the first thing to react. Instead she let a horrible situation sweep her up and responded the same way most girls her age would.

She screamed.

* * *

><p>"...And then he jumped out the window." Buffy said concluding her tale to the rest of the group as they took a seat in the courtyard.<p>

Xander didn't even wait for a silence to fall on them, "So when do we kill it?". Actually a better question would be where. Leech ran away and if he was smart he would keep the hell away from Buffy.

Buffy looked at him like he just shot a puppy. "W-what!?"

Xander blinked at her, wondering what caused such a reaction, "Uh, vampire, kill, destroy?"

She bite her lip and looked at all of them, more so Giles, "B-But he helped me! He could still be good guy." More meekly she looked hopefully up at Giles, "Right?"

Giles looked rather uncomfortable under her gaze, "A vampire isn't a person at all." he started before clearing his throat to continue, "It may have the movements, the, the memories, even the personality of the person that it took over, but i-it's still a demon at the core, there is no halfway."

"So that's a no, huh?" Willow asked feeling for her friend the whole way. Unattainable love, she's been there... or was still there. It really sucked.

"But why is he doing this? Why was he helping me? Why was he making me feel... Was this all part of the Master's plan?" She was on the verge of tears now. She had kept most of it in last night but now, after talking about it with her friends she was barely holding it in.

But despite that Xander showed no sympathy, "Buffy, this isn't that hard to figure out. It's a vampire, you're a vampire SLAYER." He raised his hands as if to say 'there you go'. "Pretty obvious how this is going to turn out."

Willow gave him a hard glare.

"What? I'm right? Right?" Xander asked looking to Giles for support. They may be fighting but Xander was backing on male comradeliness and logic for just a smidgen of back up.

And he would get some through Giles awkward words of, "Uh, it is a Slayer's duty to..." Buffy's hurt kitten face crumbled any chance of him getting any further into the usual Watcher pep talk.

Seeing him falter Xander decided to voice his opinion again, "Look, I get this might be hard for you but c'mon! It's a vampire! You're doing a public service."

"I know, but..." She bite her lip and looked down.

"How is there a 'But'? There should be no buts in this conversation. It's a vampire, it needs to die." This wasn't some 'Dating Catwoman' situation, there were no grey lines or redeemable qualities, there was just a hungry wolf in sheep's clothing that needed to be killed before it attacked anyone.

"It's not that simple Xander!" Buffy yelled at him feeling her temper rise. This was hard for her, why couldn't he just get that through his thick head. Angel made her feel like there could have been more to her life than Slaying. That there could be more to her.

"Yes it is." He growled back, his own temper rising at her stupidity. "That thing needs to die."

"What are losers talking about?" Cordelia demanded like she owned the courtyard. It was obvious that she was eavesdropping for a little while but came up at a loss of what was going on from the tidbits she heard.

Too bad Xander was in no mood to deal with her.

"Go back to the minions Cordelia. We're busy."

The rather shapely looking girl gave him a look of pure outrage and contempt and was about to lay waste into him until she saw something that demanded her attention.

A girl in a cheap knock off of the designer dress she was wearing.

"Where did you get that dress? This is a one-of-a-kind Todd Oldham. " The rant continued as she followed the poor girl back into the school as the bell gave its first ring.

"And I thought I had problems." Buffy muttered almost good naturedly as she started to collect her bag.

"You do." Xander said, showing that he didn't consider their earlier conversation wasn't over.

Too bad for him the bell, and a rather responsible librarian, thought otherwise.

* * *

><p>"You should have been more considerate to Buffy, Xander." Willow chided a few class periods later as stalked the boy to his locker. "This is a tough situation for her."<p>

"No its not. It's a leech and she's doing it a favor by shoving a stake through its chest." It was almost absent minded the way that he said that but he still managed to add in that extra amount of venom to get his point across. Enough so that Willow flinched back a bit.

"Still... Could you have been at least a little bit nicer about it?"

Xander turned to give her a full forced 'no' but the wide eyed stare he received made him slack a bit. "Maybe." He hazarded, looking none too pleased about it, "but c'mon Will. It's a vampire. It shouldn't be that hard."

"But she really liked him."

"So?" He asked as he closed his locker he slung his back pack over his shoulder, "Like I said she's doing it a favor. Would you want your body walking around killing people after you died?"

"Well, no, but that doesn't mean you had to be such a meanie."

Xander didn't know whether to smile or roll his eyes at his friend's filtered words. Mostly because translated into basic American teenager she really meant "Stop being a bastard you asshole!". Seriously, she would have one of the most foul mouths around if she didn't have a kindergartener's vocabulary when it came to name calling.

"I'm just pointing out the truth."

Willow huffed at his stubbornness, "Well, you hurt her feelings. You should apologize."

"Why?" Xander asked genuinely confused, "She has a problem, she wanted help, I offered it, she didn't like it. I am still not seeing how I'm the bad guy." Willow gave him a pouting glare that just made him sigh and relent. She wasn't going to let it go she he might as well seem like he was going along with her, "Fine, I'll try to be a little nicer."

She gave a half satisfied huff, "You better mister."

* * *

><p>The researchstudy session that took place after the final bell was tense. Most of it could be blamed on Xander and his current animosity with both Giles and Buffy. In his defense he did lighten up a little on Buffy but the underline statement of "You're being stupid" seemed to come out of his mouth every so often.

The other factor to the tense air was what they were currently researching.

Angel, Buffy's undead crush.

The mere thought of that sent his stomach for a tumble. It was such a disgusting thought. But he tried to put that aside as they searched through the books.

Giles had said that the Master wasn't known for cannon fodder. That his minions more often than not were chosen because there was a certain something about them that made his line so terrifying. And if the giant vampire Luke or the three armored vampires that nearly killed Buffy were any hint Angel must be a real monster.

It also meant that there was a good chance that he was in Giles' books. The first book Giles went through, the vampire group reference from the other day, seemed to have a clue that sent him through a tizzy as he scoured through a number of old journals.

"Here's something at last." Giles called at last as he returned from the ever increasing pile of leather bound books. "I couldn't find anything definitive in the general text but it suddenly occurred to me that it's been ages since I've read the diaries of any of the watchers before me."

So that's what he was looking at earlier! Each one of those little worn out leather books were the diaries of experienced Watchers that came before Giles. God, there at least twenty in that pile by him. How many more were there?

But while Xander was drooling over the potential hunting material the actual resident geek actually started to bounce in her chair in excitement for a totally different reason. Turning to Buffy she started to happily babble, "That must've been so embarrassing when you thought he had read your diary, but then it turned out he hadn't, but then he felt the same way..." Out of the corner of her eye the red head could see Xander's face twist into an expression of pure disgust, "I'll be quiet now."

"Yes, well," Giles said trying to ignore the interruption, "There's mention some two hundred years ago in Ireland of, of Angelus, the one with the angelic face."

"They got that right." Buffy muttered and Xander's face twisted again.

Giles let out an uncomfortable cough and moved on to some of the more identifiable traits of the vampire in question, "Does this, uh, Angel have, um, a tattoo behind his right shoulder?"

Buffy nodded "Yeah, it's a, it's a bird or something."

"And how did you see that?" Xander's voice filled with open disgust and barely hidden insinuations.

"It wasn't like that!" She snapped, "He was hurt and I was trying bandage him up."

"Oh, so now we help the enemy?"

"He helped me!"

"Children!" Giles snapped out, disrupting the argument from going any further, "Can we please get back on point?" The two teens spared a glare at each other but remained quiet. " Angelus leaves Ireland, uh, wreaks havoc in, in Europe for, uh, several decades, and then, um, about eighty years ago, the most curious thing happens. He, he comes to, uh, to America, shuns other vampires, and, and lives alone. There's, there's no, no record of him hunting here."

"So he IS a good vampire!" Willow said hopefully, "I mean, on a scale of one to ten, ten being someone who's killing and maiming every night, and one being someone who's... not."

Giles shook his head negatively, "I say that there's no record, but, uh, vampires hunt and kill. It's, it's what they do."

"Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly." Xander said fixing Buffy with a level stare, "Leeches gotta drink."

"He could have fed on me but he didn't." she said indignantly.

Xander snorted as he turned to Giles, "Question: a hundred years or so before he came to our shores, what was he like then?"

Giles stuttered, "Uh, like all of them. Uh, a vicious, violent animal."

Buffy looked down in what appeared to be defeat and Xander felt a not so guilty satisfaction that his point had finally sunk in.

* * *

><p>The little yellow ball bounced high in the air, making its way steadily to the old buildings wall with a series of arrows trying to pin it down.<p>

Xander cursed as he missed again and again. Damn it, Green Arrow made it look so easy in the comics! Why couldn't he do it? It was just one tennis ball, Ollie pinned like seven!

He supposed that was the difference between him and the heroes in the comics. They were actually skilled in what they do while he was a novice in just about everything.

As the ball finally stopped bouncing and he began collecting his arrows for another round he reflected on the meeting that took place a few short hours ago.

He thought about how he acted he had to wonder if he was too harsh, that maybe he was too much the anti-hero. It made sense in a way, he supposed, he was trying to be the Batman of the group but still it didn't feel right in his stomach.

He had every right to be angry, to dig the point home, and yet he felt bad. He shouldn't be feeling like the bad guy.

"Damn it." he mumbled himself as he bounced the tennis ball in the air again and quickly aimed and fired his bow, the arrow only skimming the ball in its decent.

He knew he wasn't feeling bad because of any form of logic or reason, more because Buffy and Willow were practically willing him to feel bad with wide and watery eyes.

Damn it! He was not supposed to be that weak. He had to be stronger than that, unbreakable in the face of... well anything.

As he missed again and the ball knocked gently against the wall he growled in frustration as he realized his mind wouldn't clear until he got rid of that stupid guilty feeling that was building in his gut.

Collecting his things for another attempt he decided that he would try and be more... accommodating next time they met up. Maybe even apologize for his behavior now that he calmed some.

Maybe he'd stop by her place later, it was on his way home anyway.

* * *

><p>Joyce Summers peeked out the side window of her door to see who could possibly be at her door that late at night. While relatively early for the LA native it seemed an hour or two after night fall Sunnydale seemed to go near dead.<p>

When she brought up the oddity to some of her new employees they said that there was a bit of a gang problem in town that caused a certain wariness at night. She supposed she could understand that but Sunnydale seemed too small of a city to have such a frightening gang presence.

Still, she was more than a little wary from bits of rumors she has heard in the last few months and caution never hurt.

Moving aside the decorative curtain she peeked and let out a relieved sigh.

Opening the door she greeted her daughter's friend warmly despite the implied late hour, relief was funny like that, "Hello Xander."

It was a rather goofy nick-name for such a serious boy she thought. A nice young man in general but she could barely recall a time he smiled in her presence.

"Um, hey, Mrs. Summers..." Xander greeted back uncomfortably shifting his duffel bag on his shoulder, "Is Buffy home yet?"

"No, but she should be home soon. She just called from the school saying she was on her way."

"Oh..." Xander said looking confused on what to do as he scratched at his sweat soaked hair. After a few seconds of awkward and confused silence finally was able to get out the reason why he was there. "Um, look... Can you pass a message to for me? I was a bit of jerk earlier and I might have been... harsher than I needed to be... And I wanted to apologize... Sorry for bugging you." He started to move to leave.

Joyce smiled indulgently as she stopped him from leaving, "Wait. Why don't you wait for her to come back? She should only be a few minutes." It was nice to see such a change in quality in her daughter's friends.

While Xander liked the idea of that very much, as he came to prefer doing things himself, he couldn't help but cast a self conscious glance down at his clothes. His still sweat soaked clothes. "Um... You sure? I don't want to stink up your house."

Joyce held back a snort and rolled her eyes, "Trust me, you smell no worse than some of the merchandise I move through here." Which was true, some artists used unusual supplies and some of her more antiqued items tended to smell at least a little musty. "Now come in."

Xander suppressed a wince at her invitation but came in anyway, trying to think of a way to prevent her from saying such a thing at night again.

"Thank you."

"No problem at all," She waved off, "No would you like something to drink? You look like you might need a glass of water."

Still trying to find a way to inform the older woman about her deadly mistake without seeming like a crazy man Xander nodded his head, "That would be great, thank you." It really would be, he ran everywhere now and while it was great for cardio and leg strength it worked up quite a thirst.

As she moved through the kitchen getting the boy a drink she decided to strike up a conversation, "So what were you doing to work up such a sweat?"

Xander shrugged unseen as he followed her into the room, "I try to work out every day and your house was on the way home so I figured 'why put off til tomorrow?'."

"A good policy." She whole heartedly agreed with something like that and hoped that it would rub off on her troubled daughter, "So what are you working out for? Thinking of joining a team?" She asked as she handed him a glass of water.

"Um, no." He answered awkwardly after taking a quick sip of water to help his dry throat, "I'm going to go hunting soon and I figured I was a bit out of practice so, I getting into practice."

Not the whole truth but not a lie and it worked just fine as an answer.

Mrs. Summers twisted her face in distaste, "I never really liked the idea of hunting. It seems like needless killing to me."

Xander knew what his dad would say to a comment like that, following along the lines of 'Liberal Pussies', but in honesty he didn't really care. So he shrugged, "It was good bonding time between me and my dad when I was younger."

Joyce didn't really like the idea of that a father was teaching his son how to kill, even if it was just animals, but despite her recent efforts she wasn't exactly the model figure of parenting.

The two small talked for a little bit longer, Joyce asking all the questions and Xander trying to answer them while trying to set himself at ease but found themselves interrupted as the door bell chimed for the second time that night.

"Well, it seems like I'm popular tonight." The lady of the house said as she excused herself to answer the door, unaware that the young man across from her was digging into his bag for one of his arrows.

It was only a few seconds later that Xander walked after Mrs. Summers to make sure she didn't invite anyone she shouldn't into her home. But despite how he steeled and prepared himself he paused in the kitchen's door way as he stared wide eyed at the blonde standing in the Summer's porch.

He remembered it.

Catholic school girl outfit, deceiving pretty face and all.

It was the one who took his little brother away. The one that twisted Jesse's corpse into a hellish abomination and let it loose onto the world.

It was his Carradine, his Joe Chill.

It was the reason he hated, it was the reason why he trained and it was crossing the threshold into his friend's house.

"Mrs. Summers." Xander called out a warning, his voice tense enough for the woman and thing noticed. "Get back." He wanted to yell something to hurry her up but his voice was too layered in anger and hatred to get anything out.

Luckily though his tone of voice was enough to make the woman back away from the door with merely a hesitant glance.

"Xander? What's going on?" She questioned as she did as he said.

Joyce wasn't moving fast enough for Xander's taste so he moved forward as fast as caution allowed and placed himself between her and the thing in her doorway, his circuits burning to life as his magic analyzed the arrow.

"_It's_ dangerous." The way he said the word 'it' made it perfectly clear that he wasn't talking about the situation. Something that made the blonde's face twist in annoyance.

"I don't like being called that." the thing said dryly, dropping the books in her arms as well as the innocent school girl routine she was laying on Joyce for an invitation into her home.

A disgusted sneer appeared on his face, "Too bad." Power started to flood through the wood, metal and plastics of the projectile, slowly making it a more effective close ranged weapon.

It's face seemed amused for a moment before it's features flashed into its true face. Joyce let out a scream at the sudden change and scampered back to the wall while Xander stood his ground, anger fighting with several different instincts and morals.

He wanted to fight the fake 'woman'. He wanted to tare that thing apart, limb by limb if he could, and ram his arrow through its heart but he couldn't. If he acted Buffy's mom would be left open and that monster would get a free shot at her.

And as much as he loathed to admit it he wasn't ready yet. Not to protect himself nor to protect another. But he could stall, if he was desperate enough he could hold it off until Buffy arrived. He could do that much.

More magic flared within his body as for the first time in his life he began to comprehend the structure of his inner body. How it worked, how it moved, and what could be strengthened.

"Oh how cute." It purred as it fully entered the room, Xander damning himself for not correcting Mrs. Summers as it did, "The little boy thinks he can fight me."

Xander stood stock still as he felt his blood set ablaze as magic attempted to fill in the weaknesses of his flesh. He could already feel that it was too much, that his body was being bloated by misplaced energy but he didn't care. For it was still energy that he could use.

The blonde thing paced in front of them with its face pulling into what can only be called an amused expression, even if it looked disgusting upon that face. The creature's finger started to move back and forth between Xander and Mrs. Summers as it sang out "Enie menie minie mo, catch a tiger by the toe,"

Xander swore in his head as he watched the vampire begin to play with them, his mind unsure what to do and pain of his ill placed magic beginning to get to him. He kept on trying to assure himself that everything would be fine and that Buffy would pull a Big Damn Heroes moment but he had a feeling that if he didn't act soon they were going to be turned into juice boxes.

So despite all reasoning he attacked, the tip of arrow jutting forward with speeds he didn't think his body possible. But his body didn't let his mind registered the surprise as his self made and inflicted routine kicked in.

As the vampire dodged the arrow head an empowered low body hook slammed into its side and made its small weight tumble in surprise.

Xander managed a grunt of a battle cry as his flesh gave protest to further action. The arrow made club swung down with as much technique and power as he could muster as he swung down again and again. The wood giving none as it hit down on the monster's flesh like a metal rod.

For a split moment, maybe not even a second, he thought he could do more than hold it off. That maybe he could kill the killer of his brother. That he didn't need the Slayer to help him end the menace before him.

But in that instance of arrogance, of fool hardy wishing, its hand lashed out like a parent tiring of their child's games. And a sound not unlike an elder tree cracking in the storm rang through the air, it started to bend the reinforced arrow in her hand.

"Now that was surprising... and annoying." It said as it straightened itself out, looking only a little mussed and annoyed from his attacks. Like the most he did was knock the wind out of her for only a second.

And with just as little effort as it took to stop his blows it snagged his weapon from his hands and gave a dainty looking push that sent him tumbling across the room. "Gikkk." Was the sound that escaped Xander's mouth as his back slammed into the stairway's banister.

The wood cracking before Joyce's petrified eyes. God, why was she still sitting there? Was she insane?

"Do you know the life expectancy for someone who tries to fight a vampire is?" The vampire said, breaking him from his thoughts and impossibly appearing in front of him in the time it took for him to let out a breath, "About a minute."

Xander gave a frightened swing, praying that it would connect. And it did, with its hand, despite how fast he was pushing his body. Despite the magic flowing and cracking through his flesh, it was only a fraction of the speed that it was capable of.

"Mmm, poor little hunter, so scared, so weak." It let out an unnecessary breath of cold air as it leaned in painfully slow towards his neck.

No, no, no! This isn't how this fight was suppose to be.

He was suppose to be the hero. A champion! Someone to help save the people of Sunnydale from the monsters under their bed. Not be a victim of them, not yet at least. It was not his time.

It was not his time.

And if it was going to end it certainly wasn't going to be that bitch.

Not to the one that took away his little brother!

"AAH!" His head whipped around and slammed into its face, dazing the creature as he forced his weight forward, toppling the lighter monster over. He could feel his body rebelling as his magic circuits forced power into his flesh and bone, fist slamming down at the monster with a fever. Bruises fading into view along his arms for no reason explainable to an outside observer.

The vampire found itself genuinely surprised by the turn of events. The human was stronger than he looked. Not much but enough for her to think he was part demon somewhere down his family line. The blood was probably so watered down that it only gave that tiny bit of extra strength that was keeping him alive so far.

Not that it really mattered. He was barely stronger than any other human on the street. But if he kept on surprising her then her unlife may be in trouble.

So she started to take him a bit more seriously.

Again, against his will, Xander found himself flying across the room.

In his mind he had that glorious image you see in movies where the hero rights himself as he lands on his feet. Unfortunately the sofa he hit didn't agree with that thought.

"Ugh" He groaned as he twisted to his stomach to get back up, only to be pushed down by a woman's size six.

"This is getting rather irritating." His aggressor mumbled as it debated whether or not to drain this distraction or move on to the Slayer's mother. Both would have a decent impact on the Slayer and if it all could be blamed on Angel then all the better.

Speaking of the intended target Joyce Summers seemed to have finally snapped out of her daze in the few scant minutes of what can hardly be called a fight. She seemed to finally become aware of just how dangerous of a situation she was in as she started to scamper up from her spot on the floor to make a run for the still open door.

"And where do you think you're going?" The vampire stomped on Xander hard enough to kill a normal human through blunt force alone, luckily for him his reinforced body lowered it to a case of bruised ribs.

Though the vampire found it odd it ignored his pained moans as it advanced towards its original prey.

Joyce let out a frightened yelp as she made her way to the door, her throat craving to scream for help but her mouth seemed unable to form the necessary sounds.

God, what was happening? What was that girl? Was she one of those gangs on drugs her employees warned her about? What kind of drugs would allow such a small girl to be able to pick up a boy Xander's size and toss him around like that?

She, she had to get out of there.

She had barely made it out the door before the felt the collar of her shirt tug back painfully, choking her, as she was flung back into her home.

"Naughty girl." The obviously mutated girls said, "Where do you think you're going?"

Joyce stared at the approaching blonde with wide eyes, her mind running through a hundred different possibilities that was about to happen to her.

"Darla, leave her alone." A deep and angered voice called from the largely forgotten kitchen.

Xander, who was still trying to regain his breath from the vicious stomp, turned his head along with the two blondes to stare at a rather imposing dark haired man in the doorway.

Xander didn't know who he was or how to feel about his sudden appearance. Maybe he should be thankful that someone showed up to help but he couldn't help but mentally scream for the man to run away.

For the moment all he could do scream at his body to move... or to do anything other than throb in pain.

"Angel." The thing cooed as it stared at the man, unmoving from its superior position over the frightened human. "I knew you'd come in eventually. Come have a drink with me, there is plenty to go around."

Xander felt his blood run cold.

That was Angel?

Fuck. He could barely handle one vampire of undetermined age, how the hell was he suppose to handle another one that was over two centuries old?

It didn't matter.

He had to try.

He was the hero.

He would get Mrs. Summers out of there and get revenge for Jesse in one go.

He just, he just needed to try, to push.

As he stumbled to his feet once again Xander started to send power to his fingertips and nails, coating them with magic and ignoring the painful sting as the power slipped and cut his skin.

Both creatures heads literally snapped towards him as the familiar and enticing coppery scent entered the air, Angel's face twisting to it's true form as he did.

Xander's breath hitched for a moment as a near instinctive fear hit him, a fear that just as quickly as it appeared transformed into anger. And anger was his fuel.

He had planned this a few times before, well thought of it more like. A last resort weapon that seemed cooler than it currently felt.

If he had to put the idea to terms than it would be turning his hand into a knife or a spear. Again, more painful than one would think.

Still it would work... probably.

With a desperate sprint he attacked the closest of his perceived aggressors, Angel.

Which seemed to be the right choice as the vampire seemed to hesitate over something, giving Xander the perfect chance to dive his hand through leather and flesh.

Angel let out a roar of pain as instinct finally won and sent Xander slamming against the floor. A strangled sound came from Xander's mouth as he literally bounced off the ground.

"Angel!" The other thing actually sounded worried to Xander's ringing ears.

The would be hunter tried to stand up for what seemed like the hundredth time that night but found the growing pain from his bruising body too much. His magic veins, circuits, he couldn't remember what to call them, felt like they were melting through his skin and though the only things that was bleeding on his body was his hand the rest of him had been brutally bashed into just about everything in the room.

As one creature fussed over the ones now bleeding side Xander again tried to make his uncooperative body rise, failing with each attempt. He tried to remind it that if they didn't rise both he and Mrs. Summers were dead.

Gasping her managed to get to his knees and see real hope for the first time that night.

There in the doorway stood a rather shell-shocked looking Buffy, her face pale and hand clenching.

Xander managed a rather smug and satisfied smile as the vampires noticed the enraged Slayer.

Oh, this was going to be good.

Too bad Joyce didn't agree with the idea, "Buffy! Run!" As terrified and dazed as she was she still remembered to be a good mother and try to get her daughter out of there.

It was then that both Xander and Buffy noticed a bleeding welt on the side of the older woman's head.

For a split second Buffy froze completely, unblinking, breath stilled in her chest, and then her hand gave an audible crack as it snapped close.

In the space of a blink Buffy steam rolled the two vampires out of the den and into the kitchen. The sound of crashing wood and broken glass soon echoed through the house as Buffy let her outrage be known.

As Xander's relief was followed a steady decent into darkness the last thing he heard was Buffy screaming "You are not welcomed here!"

He hoped she got those bastards.

* * *

><p>As the Ambulance raced down the road of the small city known as Sunnydale Joyce's foggy mind tried to make sense of the mess her night turned into.<p>

It started rather nice and quiet, Buffy's friend Xander had come over to apologize over some teenage drama they engaged in earlier that day and then everything went bad.

Darla looked like such a nice girl but oh how she was wrong.

Just the way Xander's voice sounded ruined any semblance of a nice night.

At first she didn't understand his blatant hostilities towards what seemed like a perfectly normal girl. But then her face twisted into something out of a horror movie.

A snarling face filled with twisted fangs and ridged brows that seemed somewhere between bestial and prehistoric. And then she started to toss poor Xander around the room like he weighed no more than a throw pillow.

And things only got worse when that older boy, more like man, that Buffy had over the other night. At first she thought that maybe he was there to help him but then Darla greeted him and his face contorted just like hers.

Poor Xander tried to stop him too but was simply slammed to the ground.

All seemed lost, as dramatic as that sounded it was true, when Buffy arrived. When she first came to the door it seemed like the worst possible thing to happen. She screamed at her daughter to leave but that only seemed to spring her into action.

Action that sent both assailants flying into the kitchen.

The vehicle jolted slightly as they entered the hospital's property.

And then Buffy fought them off... no, that isn't right. How could her little baby girl possibly fight off those mons... robbers wearing Halloween mask?

No, no, it made alot more sense that Xander had scared them when he tried defending her and when Buffy opened the door they were frightened enough to run.

Yes, that's probably what happened.

It's what made the most sense.

But if that was true why, in the very back of her head, did she think that it was wrong?

* * *

><p>The next time Xander awoke he found himself blinking at the bright lights and bleach white walls.<p>

So the ER again.

Huh, he hadn't been here since the tree/skate board bet last year. Not one of his better moments but until the end it looked good.

"Xander!"

And as if she was a fixture, there was Willow right by his side. "Hey Will. How you doing?" He asked as he turned to look at her, his body sending oh so subtle signals that no it did not want to move.

"How am I doing?" She asked incredulously before puffing out her cheeks out, "Look at you!" He did, the tips of his fingers each covered in stark white gauze and his arm looked like someone made circuit board out of bruises and swelling welts.

And if he had to guess the rest of him looked about the same. He never really thought the circuits thing was serious.

He wondered if he would get any cool scars from it.

Putting that thought aside he went to his more heroic thoughts, "How's Mrs. Summers?"

She gave him miffed look, like she wanted to slap him for even daring to change the subject, but she decided the subject was relentable, "She's fine... ish. She has a bit of a concussion and is, well... a little hysterical."

Well that's to be expected, he supposed. She just came face to face with real live monsters. How else was she suppose to react?

"How bad?"

"Well... She's talking about muggers in weird mask so I think she's trying to rationalize things."

Xander felt a pang of disappointment and a hint of disgust at that. He had hoped Joyce was better than that. To not be one of blind, or delusional, sheep that ignored what was truly going on in the world, in their town.

He even voiced his disappointment to Willow but she seemed to accept it readily enough. Going into great detail about how people tend to see what they want to see and rationalizing traumatic events.

She tended to ramble like that when she was nervous, scared, unhappy, hyper, or any other mood that would take her out of her normal happy place.

It was usually best to let her vent like that to get it out of her system but sometimes you just had to stop her to keep things moving along.

"So when are my parents getting here?" Interrupting a rather boring sounding case study on... something. She usually talked so far above his head his mind started to wander.

"Oh... um, the doctors called them not me but I think they're on their way."

"Which should give us a bit of time talk." Giles said as he entered the room. He had probably been standing outside it for a while waiting for the right time to enter because no way was that timing accidental. "Willow can you give us a moment?

The red head looked like she wanted to protest but Xander tapped her on the arm and asked her to get him a soda. She glared at him because now he was trying to get rid of her too... and she usually found it hard to turn down his requests.

"Fine" And with a miffed air she stormed out the room.

With Willow gone an awkward and tense silence descended on the room. Giles seemed to be studying him for a long hard minute before taking a seat next to the bed.

"Buffy, or rather her mother, told me what happened and what you did... I want to say good job but at the same time you have proved my point on what I was trying to tell you earlier." Xander blinked as he watched as a number of emotions crossed over the older man's face, "Magic is dangerous without the proper guidance Xander, surely you see that?"

"I did fine on my own." Came his usual protest.

"Yes, I see how fine you are." Giles responded dryly with his voice sounding tight, "Your body has literally been burned and bruised by your own magic."

Xander was about to protest about how he was fine but Giles held up a hand, halting any words from being spoke by the teen, "I am not asking you to stop, just, I'm asking you to work with me. Learning and using magic is like dancing with the reaper. With every step you risk stepping on its toes and losing your life. If for nothing else on your part to be proficient in the spells you use but for my part I just want to see you live long enough to use them." 'Or see more than your teens' he silently added to himself but figured he was already treading on the edge with what he said to Xander already.

Xander didn't say anything for a minute as he processed what Giles had told him.

Was he really doing his spells that wrong?

Did he really need more help than he was already getting?

Giles was already helping him out so much and he learned a great deal from the various martial arts studios around the city, did he really need more.

As he reviewed his progress and position in the group he finally saw it. He saw who he was in the group.

It was almost laughably obvious.

He wasn't the Batman or the Green Arrow, he was the Robin.

The little bird, the sidekick to the real hero, Buffy, who was getting shown the ropes by those who did the real work.

He could live with that he supposed.

After all every Robin left the nest and struck out on their own eventually.

* * *

><p><strong>An:<strong>

**Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that.**

**Tell me what you think and peace.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Let us all hold a moment of silence for the laptop that fought off the blue screen death long enough for me to retrieve my files. You will be missed old friend.**

**Chapter Nine: School Days**

Buffy had fumed through the days after the attack.

She had searched every undead hot spot she knew of and came up empty. The vampire that tricked her, and his apparent girlfriend, hadn't shown themselves anywhere. And none of the demons that she had 'gently' questioned had any clue as to where they might be.

Despite that she was sure that she would get the bastard. She couldn't let him get away with what he'd done.

He had tricked her.

He had used her.

And then he hurt her mother and sent Xander to the hospital!

He was going to die. Him and his little bitch too.

God, she still couldn't believe she was that stupid!

Giles taught her better than that, Merrick taught her better than that. Or at least they tried to.

Maybe, maybe if she listened to them more this wouldn't have happened... and maybe Merrick wouldn't have died.

Maybe if she was a better Slayer...

No, she couldn't think like that. She had to focus, find that lying bastard.

...But still...

* * *

><p>Scarred, callused and blistered.<p>

She never really noticed before but as she stared at Xander's unwrapped hand she could find no other way to describe it.

Skin peeled from his palms and ugly, thick yellow patches appeared along his fingers, from base to tips. And the new bright red scars surrounding his nails didn't seem to be out of place with trails of healing white tissue as company.

What was he doing to himself to cause this much damage to his hands? She knew he was training and working hard to help with the Slaying but to that extent?

And what were those strange bruises that stretched across his body? They had been puzzling her ever since she walked into his hospital room the day before. What could cause such an injury? She didn't think vampires actually used weapons and if they did what could they have used to leave such odd marks?

It was like the wound had spread from the inside out.

Her eyes traveled along the path of the oddly patterned marks and up his arm, her gaze fixing on the new tone and size of his muscles. She blushed as she wondered if the rest of him was developing just as well.

"Hey Will, you okay there? You kind've spaced out."

Her blush deepened as her voice raised a few octaves higher than it needed to be, "Fine! Just fine!"

"You sure? Cause you're looking a little red there…" He paused as he spared her hair a glance, "Well, more red than usual that is."

The bad joke forced enough indignation to reach the red head's system and allowed her a bit more control of herself, "I'm fine. Let's just watch the movie." Her cheeks puffed as she turned back to the screen.

"K'…" Xander said a bit skeptically as he turned back to the screen and took in another handful of popcorn.

He wanted to press more but currently Willow and her visits were his only escape from complete and total boredom and he didn't want to risk losing them, even for a day.

Ever since he returned from the hospital he had found himself under the constant watch of his surprisingly proud parents.

After hearing the "Official Report" from the police and hospital staff one could actually see his parents seem to swell with pride. It wasn't a state he was used to seeing them in but apparently "fighting off a couple of robbers" was grounds for praise.

And for the first time in years real parenting moments showed themselves from the elder members of his family. Not since his father's accident, not since the old man dragged his mother with him into the bottle, had he received such positive attention.

But it seemed a consequence of this was that he was under constant supervision by his parents and he was going mad from it. Not because of how his mother dotted on him or how his father would constantly check in on him, no that he kind of enjoyed. No, what he hated was that because of his parents' attention the doctor's orders were being enforced.

There were no more running routines, no shadow boxing, no pushups, no arrow practice, no physical activity what so ever. He was stuck inside, no school, no people outside of Willow and his parents and no magic because Giles decided that when he visited to take his books away.

No magic, no working out, no progress.

In his enforced recovery he had become stagnant. A thought and state that he simply could not stand. He had to get better, he had to become a hero, and sitting in his bedroom all day hopped up on pain killers and re-reading old comic books wasn't the way to do it.

… Even if he was taking notes with every volume and issue he re-read.

Still, it was annoying but the bed rest was a combination order from both the doctor and Giles. And as a Robin he was obligated to listen to the later.

God, it sucked being downgraded to a Robin.

If he was still an aspiring Batman he could just ignore the doctor and keep on pushing himself but noooo, he had to have an Alfred looking over his shoulder.

Hmmm, he wondered if Giles could really be counted as an Alfred. Sure he had the whole British thing down and he was more behind the scenes but he still got out there every now and then. Plus he was working with and training Buffy and soon Xander himself.

So maybe he was more of a Wildcat. An old hero that was still fighting the good fight while mentoring the next generation.

Either way it was annoying.

At least Willow's after school and weekend visits made the time pass by quicker, even if having her over was like having another doctor look him over.

At this point he was actually looking forward to Monday so he could get back to school and stop this whole "Taking it Easy" crap.

His muscles were aching and it wasn't because of his bruises.

Shifting restlessly on the coach he took in another handful of popcorn and did his best to pay attention to the Romantic Comedy Willow picked out.

God, bed rest was torture.

* * *

><p>When Giles wasn't looking into rumors of Angeleus' movements through his contacts he was going over the magical text that Xander obtained from the deceased Mrs. Madison's collection. And frankly he was beginning to worry.<p>

Malignant curses? Blood oaths to demons? Allegiances to gods and forces that were frankly unknown?

The texts spread out over his home's coffee table just screamed of trouble in the form ill-fated magics and back-firing spells. He would have to go over with Xander exactly what spells he learned and just how he was powering them.

Though the question of how the spells were powered had already, if only partially, answered. Both from the Hyena possession and the damage done to his body by what appeared to be ill-used magic.

It would appear the boy learned how to open his internal pathways. How so was still a mystery to Giles, as he still hadn't gone through all the texts yet, but he could only hope he did not contract a demon to do so.

Though the fact Xander seemed to hate the demon population at large and refused to be a, as the teen put it, "Butt Monkey" was a small comfort to the English native.

Still, he found he had to respect the boy.

Giles had not realized how far the teen was willing to go to get into the fight. Pulling himself at all ends to improve everything about himself just so that he could stand a chance in the face of the monsters.

If the boy wasn't being so stupid about it Giles might have found the attitude commendable.

Wearily Giles started to rub his eyes in fatigue as he felt pulled at all sides himself. Between his Watcher duties, his cover job as a school librarian, and his ever growing responsibility to rein Xander in: he truly felt his age.

Lord only knows what will happen when Willow decides she should be doing more.

His duties, both official and self-appointed, were slowly tearing him apart. He wondered if this feeling was the reason why so many Watchers turned grey at such young ages.

But… Maybe the children are right. Maybe they should be doing more, maybe they all should be doing more.

He knew he had the power to do more. All he needed was his Code. One simple phone call and they could be there within a week and he could help his Slayer more than any other watcher before him had.

He chanced a glance at the telephone before years of reasoning and focus hammered in. He wasn't going to allow himself to fall like that.

He knew what would happen if he picked up his tools again.

Ripper would rise and there was little chance Rupert would ever come back.

No, he had to stay focused. He had to watch over charge and her companions.

He could not fall while it was him and them against the darkness of the world.

* * *

><p>Nearly as soon as he entered the school grounds, with Willow hovering behind him the whole walk there, Xander had found just how quickly gossip could spread. He also learned just how quickly it can mutate.<p>

Somehow the "Official" story had leaked out into the student body, courtesy of a rather proud sounding Principal Flutie, and they were having a field day with it. The most out there thing he heard so far was when a freshmen asked him if he really beat up ten bikers on his own after they crashed into Buffy's house.

Frankly he was starting to get why so many heroes had secret identities, the hero worship and awe got on your nerves quick.

No wonder Batman avoided the press like the plague.

As he complained openly about this to Willow, who wasn't so secretly enjoying his tipsy antics thanks to the pain meds, a familiar voice called out to them. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

Startled he turned around to see Buffy standing just behind him, damn her and her ninja skills. "Oh, hey Buff. What's up?"

Putting a mock pout on her face she instantly said, "I asked first buster."

"Did you?" He asked before realizing that she did.

"She did." Willow added cheerily while stifling a giggle. A loopy Xander was a funny Xander. It was even funnier than back before he got all serious.

"I did," Buffy said in a mock grave tone as she played along with the joke, "Now, answer the question."

"Um, good, I think." Which was hard to do considering how fuzzy his head felt.

Both Girls shared an amused glance at their friend's antics, Buffy being more than a little glad it wasn't her this time.

Xander, cheeks glowing in embarrassment as his fuzzy mind started to catch up to the conversation, decided to change the subject.

"So, how's your mom?"

Any remote sign of cheerfulness fled from both the conversation and Buffy's face, twisting briefly into emotions Xander couldn't place, "She's… Doing better, I guess. Going to see the doctor again to see the result of her CT tomorrow. Hopefully it's nothing too bad."

Xander shifted his backpack uncomfortably, "Well… good luck to her."

Buffy flashed him a tiny smile in thanks before she remembered something, "Oh yeah, my mom wanted to invite you and your folks over for dinner sometime. You know," She looked aside as if she was ashamed of something, "To say thank you."

Xander blinked dumbly for a second, as he was honestly not expecting any sort of thanks besides passing comments. That's how it worked in the comic books right? … Museums and parades for the big leagues withstanding.

So it took him a moment to answer with, "I'll have to talk to my parents but that sounds nice."

Again Buffy beamed at him before the bell rang forcing the three friends to head to their homerooms with little more than a 'seeya later'.

* * *

><p>As the day went by Xander would find himself increasingly frustrated, and it wasn't because of his ribs.<p>

What was causing his frustration was that it wasn't just the student body that got sucked into the rumor mill but the teachers too. Without fail each teacher would pull him aside at some point during the period and tell him what a credit he was to the school and to the town.

It got annoying fast.

He briefly wondered if Buffy ever had to deal with anything like that. Then he realized that she probably didn't, partly she was better at the whole 'disappearing into the night' thing than he was and partly because she got the Spiderman blame.

Seriously, half the teachers at their school thought she was a half-step away from juvie and that just wasn't right. She was an honest-to-all hero and she deserved to be treated like one.

So caught up in his musing Xander never heard the clicking of heals coming up behind his computer station and took no notice of the woman standing behind him until she spoke up.

"How's the assignment coming Xander?"

Xander jolted around his chair in surprise, much to the protest of his ribs. With his body turned he saw who decided to call out to him and instantly felt like he was in trouble under his teacher's dark eyes.

She wasn't quite glaring but something about her body language told him that she was not happy with him.

"Um, fine Ms. Calendar." He said as soon as her question finally caught up his brain.

"Then why is your screen blank?"

Sure enough when he turned his attention back to his screen he found it void of any progress since he booted up the program at the beginning of class. So turning back all he could do was sheepishly respond, "Taking a short break?"

The pretty woman crossed her arms and sarcastically responded, "Uh-huh. How about me and you have a little talk after class about how that break was going?"

Head down now, already preparing for his coming scolding, Xander mumbled, "Yes, ma'am."

She gave him one last not quite glare before moving on to see what the rest of the class was doing. And as she walked away Xander couldn't help but think of the irony of what just happened. Here he was complaining to himself about how annoying the faculty was being by their continued praise and one of them steps up to scold him.

At least the blow was softened by her being the resident hot teacher. It would make the reprimand he was going to get a little more bearable.

Though it didn't really help with the jeers from some of his nearby classmates, or with the little pit of impatient anxiety in his stomach.

So by the time the bell rang Xander was practically praying that she would make their conversation as quick and as painless as possible.

But by the way she was staring at him with narrowed eyes and how she closed the door as the last of the students left he doubted it.

After a moment of silence and Ms. Calendar's searching gaze Xander decided to speak up to move things along, "Look, Ms. C., I'm sorry for spacing out in class I'm just-,"

She cut him off, "I don't care about that." She said, surprising her student, "What I want to know is what the hell you've done."

"Wha?"

"I asked, what have you done?"

Xander shook his head, "I'm really not getting what you're saying."

The dark haired woman rolled her eyes as she practically stomped towards him and grabbed his wrist, "This!" She hissed, pointing clearly to the roadway of strange bruises that ran along his arm, "I'm talking about this. What did you do?"

Xander gave a confused blink at her demand, feeling completely unsettled by the turn of events. "I-I got into a fight." He said, trying to take a step away from her but she seem insistent on invading his personal space.

"And I want to know what you fought them with." She demanded once again in a harsh tone, "A fireball? A burst? Please don't tell me you're dumb enough to summon a demon. And what type of idiot taught you to cast spells? Did they want you to burn from the inside out?"

She knew about magic?

That out of everything was what shocked him the most. He honestly thought that most of Sunnydale was willingly blind to what was going on in the world around them.

To have someone with their eyes opened to it all in front of him was a shock. And at the moment he couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing. After all, the last teacher that knew about the real world turned out to be a giant man eating praying mantis.

"You know about magic?" He finally managed to get out after his shock started to fade.

The teacher almost rolled her eyes, "Yes, I know about the crafts. Now answer my questions."

"Uh, questions?" He asked, his mind becoming fuzzier with every beat of his rapidly accelerating heart.

Her response to his question was to narrow her eyes further and tighten her hold on his wrist, "I want to know who taught you magic and what spells you used."

"I, um," Xander was uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was pinned to the wall, and even more so of her hand on his wrist. But unlike most other guys in this position he didn't find himself aroused or excited. Well maybe a little, she was the hottest teacher in the school after all, but it was buried underneath layers of panic.

She freely admitted she was a witch and she had control of his wrist. As both a growing magic user and a growing fighter he found both to be very worrying things.

Add to the fact that he was injured he didn't know what to do.

Should he attack? Break her hold and then run for it? Get Buffy?

He'd been in these situations before, he could handle it.

He could handle her. Or so he told himself.

And maybe she noticed all these signs and took the hint; maybe she needed her own space to cool off, or needed it to prepare some kind of attack. Xander really didn't know but he was so relieved that she let go of his wrist and backed away a step that his knees nearly gave out.

As he leaned against the nearest table to steady himself he kept a wary eye on her and the way she was taking in calming breaths. Didn't he do the same thing right before he prepared a spell? Was she going to attack?

He tried to do the same thing himself but the pain in his ribs caused him to make a painful hiss as he tried to take in a deep breath. Didn't stop him from grabbing a pen somebody left on the table though.

"Sorry," She said after a final breath, sounding a lot calmer than she did just a moment ago. "Look Xander, I just want to know where you learned your magic. Because whoever taught obviously didn't care about your safety."

Xander's body didn't loosen in the slightest at her apology but he did feel off balanced enough by the sudden mood change to not attack and to actually think things through as best as he could. Taking in the situation as quickly as his medicated mind could manage.

He was trapped alone in a room with a witch who stood between him and the door. Definitely not the best of situations, and honestly he had no clue on how to get out of it.

At least she wanted to talk, and since the Zoo Keeper was proof Bond Villains actually existed he might be able to escape during the monologue.

"No one taught me, well I taught myself so not nobody, but you get the point, self-learned." He finished the mesh sentence lamely, wishing to all that the pain killers didn't make him so loopy.

The computer teacher, still tense herself, stared at him stupefied. After a brief moment of tense silence, the computer teacher's expression seemed more exasperated than anything, "Look, Xander…"She paused as if in thought, "I don't know how you got into magic but you have to understand how dangerous it is. What it can do to your body, to your mind."

As she started to explain the dangers of magic to him Xander couldn't help but blink in shock.

She wasn't going to attack him?

She was actually trying to help him?

Well, that's not how he saw things happening. And while getting a stern warning was better than being set on fire he still didn't like getting one, especially when Giles kept on giving him one in various lengths every time they saw each other.

So that combined with the diminishing stress that had built up inside him, in his opinion, he couldn't really be blamed for the way he snapped at the woman who was apparently only trying to help, "Look I get enough lectures from Giles, I know I did wrong, so can we skip it?"

She blinked, "Mr. Giles knows about this?"

"Yeah, he took away all my books." He really couldn't control the pout that sprouted on his face, he didn't like being as stunted in progress as he was. "Can I leave now?"

As he didn't see her as a threat anymore the question was rather rhetorical on his part. So he just side stepped her and went out the door heading for the class he was already late for.

* * *

><p>As much as she wanted to, Jenny Calendar realized she couldn't chase after the errant boy. Not only because her next class was waiting out in the hallway but because he obviously needed a little space to calm down.<p>

Why she decided it was a good idea to confront a budding magic user mid-day in the middle of a crowded school. She'd probably never know but she would eventually chalk it up to the sway of the moment.

Still, something had to be done before he hurt himself further or someone else. He obviously had no real control over what he was doing and that worried her greatly.

Someone had to make sure he didn't do anything foolhardy and dangerous since he obviously couldn't be trusted enough to look after himself in that regard. And if she interpreted her conversation with him right then someone did know he was practicing and hadn't done anything till there was damage done.

That thought gave her an idea for what she was going to be doing over her lunch break.

* * *

><p>After his confrontation with Ms. Calendar, Xander's day didn't improve at all. It seemed that being late to one class was enough to get rid of the whole hero-worship some teachers seemed to be exuding off themselves. Or maybe it never extended that far, he didn't know and honestly didn't care.<p>

He was just irked that he got extra homework because of it.

And then the school psychiatric Dr. Patterson, or just as likely Mr. Flutie, decided it would do Xander some good to talk about his problems. It went about as well as the last time they had a talk, Patterson bringing up topics and Xander half assing the answers with dead ends.

At least it got him out of history. As studious as he may have become he still hated that class.

Needless to say he was grateful for the break from school that lunch gave him.

Well, for that very brief moment before the girls swooped down and asked question after question. After the pleasantry of asking how he was doing and how was his body was holding up they asked about his confrontation with Ms. Calendar.

Apparently the rumor mill spread quick and wide that he got a dressing down from said teacher. But apparently only the why was speculated on as everyone universally seemed to agree that he had his ass verbally kicked.

So of course his friends wanted to know what he did wrong.

Xander stabbed at his lunch partly out of distaste in the food and partly because he didn't know how to say what he wanted in public. The ignorant people and those who refused to be in the know tended to take talks of the supernatural as a sign that you're crazy.

"Ms. C is like Amy's mom." Xander said, comparing their teacher to one of their old adventures hoping to get the point across to them discreetly.

In response to answer Willow reeled back in shock and Buffy went rigid as she asked "You sure?"

He nodded his head, "Yeah, she basically told me straight out." Xander said as raised his arm, "She recognized the marks on me and demanded answers."

"Why didn't you get me?" Buffy hissed out, obviously irritated.

Xander almost shrugged, "It was over with and honestly… she seemed pretty Glinda."

Willow blinked and gave a hesitant smile, "So she's good then?"

"Seems like."

Buffy still didn't seem appeased, like she found it too convenient or suspicious, "We should still tell Giles, see what he thinks we should do."

While the suggestion was a bit out of character for the usually independent Slayer the other two found it to be a sound idea and went with it.

Xander honestly didn't mind leaving the excuse of a lunch behind and tossed the food out as he followed the girls to the library.

* * *

><p>Giles gratefully took another sip of his tea, letting the caffeinated beverage wake up whatever sleeping brain cells it could. He had been drinking a cup for what seemed like every ten minutes and honestly it wasn't so much keeping him awake as making him need to go to the bathroom more often.<p>

God, he was so tired.

He just wanted to lay down for a quick nap but he had responsibilities and duties. And even if they worked him to death, he sure as all was going to do them to the best of his abilities.

Still it was rather difficult to organize the library's bookshelves with a tired mind and sagging eyes.

He was actually grateful for the rather sudden and surprising sound of the library's doors swinging open, sending a large enough jolt of adrenaline to keep him awake for just a bit longer. Honestly, he was sure that this was his first visitor in hours which didn't say much for the minds of Sunnydale's youth.

"Ah, Ms. Calendar, how can I help you?" He greeted pleasantly as he saw the attractive woman practically march into the room. Normally he may have taken such a posture as a bad sign but with his addled mind he couldn't tell. Either that or he was too tired to care.

His co-worker didn't answer immediately, instead she took a quick look around the library and pinned him with a glare as soon as she realized they were alone. "Well, I would like to know why one of my students came to class looking like his magic up and tried to strangle him… If you wouldn't mind too much."

Giles was too stunned by her statement to even find the sarcastic way she said it rude. But before he could voice the latest revelation in question form Jenny stopped him, "Yes I know about magic, you do too apparently, I went over this with Xander earlier. Now I want to know how you could let him get like that."

"I-I didn't!" Giles sputtered out feeling his lack of sleep going very unwell with the turn of events, "I only found out last week after he was possessed!"

It was only after the words left his mouth did he realize he may have said too much.

"Possessed?" Jenny questioned while her mind reeled with possibilities, none of the particularly nice. "Are you telling me he allowed himself to be invaded by a demon?"

Did Xander already fall that low? Willing to give up his body and mind for a small nudge in power? For a brief bout of pleasure?

"No, no." Giles waved off, "Completely accidental. He and a few other students stumbled upon a half-finished ritual. We managed to remove the spirits with little ill effect that we know of." Giles once again made a mental note to check on the other teens soon. "Xander had showed some signs of magical fatigue and when I confronted him on it he refused to listen."

That made sense she supposed, if she thought about it in that all knowing teenager type of way. He probably figured he knew better than Giles and did whatever he felt like.

So letting out a sigh she decided to give the man a break, "Do you know what spells he used to get like that?"

Giles shook his head, "Honestly, no. I just took it as a miracle that he decided to listen to me afterwards." He paused for a hardly noticeable second as he mulled over how much he should share with this apparent witch. He had no idea where her allegiance laid, who's conven she belonged to, did she worship a deity? There were too many variables to truly trust her, especially with the fate of one of the children under his protection.

Still though, she was a teacher and a colleague. The first of which usually implied at least some fondness for children and a wanting what's best for her students. Or so he could hope.

And with that little tiny flicker of hope still intact he told her about the books he confiscated from Xander, where he had obtained them and what the librarian found inside them.

Jenny grimaced at the description of the woman and the magics she used, both from what Giles had experienced and the spells found in her books. From what she could guess the former Mrs. Madison was a fallen Eclectic Witch. Grabbing what she could from a dozen different sources and making it work for her in a pitch patched sort of way.

Not that Jenny could say she was any different, blending what magics she still allowed herself from her family with her new ways as a Techno Pagan. But she could say that she hadn't fallen far enough to try and literally take over a young girl's life.

And most of the magics she heard Giles describing seemed to be fine line magics at best. Spells you needed to be balanced with yourself and energies to attempt.

If Xander misstepped with even one of such spells…. And that's not even thinking if he stumbled upon magics bound by the Three-Fold Law.

After shaking her head to clear her thoughts she asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

"I-," He paused again and this time it wasn't out of doubt, well for her at least. "I'm not sure to be honest. After he's recovered enough I was going to see how much damage had been done and then learn what spells he used."

"Smart, I guess. But not really a long term plan."

Giles shook his head, "No, I'm afraid it's not."

"We should fix that." She said with just a hint of demand.

As much as he wanted to hesitate, to possibly deny her, he knew he needed help. He was barely getting through his days as it was and a helping hand would be taken gratefully. Even if he was going to watch that hand like a hawk. "What do you purpose?"

As the two talked back and forth about options, slowly finding their way to a mutually agreeable solution, a certain trio of students walked into the room.

"Giles?" Buffy questioned, feeling her body tighten like a coil as she saw her potential enemy standing next to someone she cared about. In the corner of her eye she could make out Xander moving in front of Willow looking more wary than ready for a fight.

That was good, she supposed though she wished he just took the red head out of the room with him, even if she was the good witch of the north like Xander thought.

"Hmm, oh, hello Buffy." Giles greeted with as much composure as anyone else when they are torn form an important conversation.

Buffy brushed off the greeting as her gaze lay fixed on her computer teacher, "Giles, are you okay?"

"Hmmm," He hummed in question wondering what she meant before the obvious reached his mind. Buffy had heard about Ms. Calendar from Xander. And her previous experience with witches added to the fact she was standing next to him must have looked worrying.

He was actually surprised she hadn't leapt into action already. Her restraint was improving apparently.

"Oh, yes. Ms. Calendar was just talking to me about Xander's condition." Giles stepped away from the woman to show he was free to move and placed a hand on the Slayer's shoulder to reassure her. "Everything's alright."

Jenny watched on in mild surprise and curiosity as she watched the librarian interact with his students. From what she could guess is that all three of them were in the proverbial know. Maybe he was drawing in practitioners and guiding them.

Admirable, if she knew what he was teaching them.

Her best guess as to what he was teaching them was Demon Hunting. At least she could guess from the bits he told her about the witch Madison and the Possession Ritual. A nice idea but it was dangerous on so many levels and reasons.

Still, she was a teacher. She liked being a teacher, she worked hard to become one. And part of that job was looking after the kids of her school, going above and beyond as the cases demanded.

And these cases seemed to demand it.

Flashing the three of them a smile she asked, "Are you two Magi too?". The question was directed at Buffy and Willow since she knew Xander's answer already.

Buffy's eyes narrowed, unfamiliar with the term but she was fairly sure she wasn't a mag-whatever. "No, Slayer. So behave or get Slayed."

Giles groaned. He had been trying to avoid that certain secret and there Buffy goes just spouting it to the world. Did she even understand the idea of keeping her identity hidden?

Jenny for her part felt her eyes widen in shock.

A Slayer?

Was the girl joking? Because everyone knew that Slayers were just rumors and myths… Right?

Her eyes flicked across the small group, taking in each of their expressions as her mind made the connections between rumors and reality. Giles, an obviously occult educated English man, looking exasperated and Buffy, a pretty young girl, looking like she could take on a small army just from the pouting glare on her face.

They fit. They fit the rumors.

But still… she couldn't really believe it.

So when Jenny finally found herself able to blink all she could say was, "Really?"

* * *

><p>After shock and exasperation wore off the adults of the group explained what happened to the best of their ability. Most of the conversation was Giles trying to assure Buffy that Ms. Calendar seemed to be a good person but when they stumbled onto a part of their conversation that the girls seemed to focus on.<p>

"You're doing magic?" Willow asked in wonder and disbelief while the expression on Buffy's face seemed a bit perturbed.

"Just a bit." He admitted easily. It wasn't like he was hiding it, he just didn't find it necessary to bring up. He wasn't good enough at it yet to be any help, and he still wouldn't be anytime soon if Giles didn't hurry up and let him practice.

"Why?" Buffy asked, her voice straining against itself.

Xander shrugged, "Figured I needed a utility belt to help out and since I wasn't rich or super smart, so magic would have to do."

Now while everyone found how Xander said that line odd Buffy just couldn't let what it meant go.

Why? Why did he always want to fight?

Didn't understand that he could have a normal life? To be free of the nightmare that she was forced to live in? Why would anyone throw that chance away?

She was destined for it, Giles said he was born in it, they didn't have a choice. They had to fight.

So why couldn't he just stand aside and just be her friend?

Why did he want to fight so badly?

So wrapped up in her spiraling thoughts she barely heard the bell ringing and the group talking about meeting after school. And even as they traveled down the halls to their classes, all Buffy could think about was what she could do to make her friend understand.

* * *

><p>By the last period Willow was practically bouncing in her seat as the clock ticked closer to the end of the school day. Not a usual state for her but she couldn't help it, she was going to learn about MAGIC!<p>

Well, hear people talk about and plan about magic but it was going to be interesting none the less. And though she knew the conversation and planning were going to be focused around Xander she was hopping that maybe they could squeeze her in on those lessons.

It was only fair right? If Xander got to learn something then she should too, right?

With that thought in mind she quickly bound out of her last class as the bell rang in a much better mood than either of her friends.

Buffy still fretting over what she should say to Xander and wondering if she should talk to Giles about it, maybe even get him on her side, while Xander was just annoyed at what he saw as another delay in his progress.

The three easily converged on their way to the library as they were used to. Bubbly, nervous and slightly tense small talk was made between the three that each one would brush off easily for various reasons. Chalking it up to nerves of seeing a witch they still weren't sure about or in Willow's case obvious excitement of talking about magic. Asking questions constantly about what Xander knew and was a little disappointed that it was only three spells.

"Hey, they're hard to get. Okay?" Xander said, defending himself even if he was disappointed in his own progress.

"Well, maybe Ms. Calendar can help?" Willow offered.

"Maybe." Xander agreed with a bit of a pout. He appreciated the help and even if he wasn't demoted to a Robin he would still appreciated the help, almost anything to get stronger, but he didn't like being delayed.

But if it paid off in the end he guess he couldn't really mind.

Buffy stayed quiet during her friends' little exchange. She could guess that those spells he named were the reason why he lasted as long as he did against the vampires that invaded her home and while she was grateful she still didn't like him knowing them.

He didn't need to fight and he shouldn't have had to at all. Her stupidity almost got him and her mom killed. It was her responsibility, not his.

She was the one that was supposed to fight.

With that thought in Buffy's mind they entered the library, making Giles jump a bit as he was nose deep in a book. A book Xander recognized.

"Hey, are you done with them yet?" He asked the librarian excitedly. The closer Giles got to finishing reading all his books the quicker he could get back to practicing.

"Ah, not quite." Giles admitted a bit sheepishly. His exhaustion and search for Angel slowed down his reading pace considerably. "I, ah, still have a few more volumes to go through."

"Aw, come on. Most of those books are filled with crap anyway. What's taking so long?!" He was trying to patient, he really was but he needed to get moving again. He needed to get stronger.

Giles was unmoved by Xander's outburst, he had his reasons and he didn't mind sharing them with the boy. "I need to know everything that is in these books so I can not only see what you may have learned but see what other useful information lays inside."

"Could have just asked me." Xander muttered.

Giles smothered a snort and replied dryly, "Yes, because teenagers are famous for giving such accurate information."

"It's still not a bad idea Mr. Giles." Jenny said in response, entering the room after hearing bits of the conversation from the near deserted Library hallway. "It'll be easier to see where he is at that way."

"True." Giles admitted, "But I would still be more comfortable knowing what else he may have stumbled on in his readings."

"I can understand that but still we need to get a handle on the situation immediately."

"We still need any and all information we can before we act. We don't know what the boy may have tripped and stumbled on with these books."

"Hmmm, I suppose but still…"

"Hey, can we stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Xander asked, inserting himself into the conversation much to Willow's chagrin as it sounded like something interesting might have been said if they'd kept on talking.

"Y-yes, sorry about that Xander." Giles apologized, feeling chastised enough that his damn stutter came back. While Ms. Calendar just shrugged as an apology, obviously feeling little regret.

"Yeah, well, let's just get going." Xander said, wanting nothing more than to get moving again.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry it took so long but after I got my new Laptop it took a while to get into the flow with it but I hope the chap was worth the wait. And sorry if you don't like the length but it was only supposed to be a short one.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Five. That's how many times I've started and restarted this damn chapter. Why can't I be happy with what I wrote? WHY?**

**Though another part of the problem is that I have four new fics and a book series almost completely planned out in my head now and I'm so very, very, tempted to write them.**

**Chapter ten: Lesson Plans.**

* * *

><p>Xander was frustrated.<p>

Enough so that he ignored doctor's orders and started to pound out push up after push up just to blow off some steam. His ribs were already starting to hate him but he couldn't find it in himself to really care.

And it all had to do with that stupid computer teacher.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't stupid but she was certainly irking his nerves.

He had gotten his hopes up for lessons or some sort of guidance but noooo. He had to play the waiting game apparently. Sure she had a half way decent excuse of waiting for his body to heal from the damage he inflicted on himself but still, he wanted progress not more playing another round of the waiting game.

He didn't care if his body fell apart on him, he wanted the strength, the power, to do something and all being a Robin seemed to be getting him was more and more waiting. It seemed the more people he had looking over his shoulders the further he had to reach for the strength he needed. It was becoming unbearable.

The fact that Ms. Calendar called him an idiot about a hundred times the other day didn't help matters either. Apparently the way he was opening his pathways was "Like taking a hammer to the door instead of using the key". But he had to wonder if it really even mattered. Most of his potential circuits had been opened, even if a few weren't by him, so was it important how it happened?

He had a job to do and all these 'responsible adults' had been doing since they found out about all of his training was delay him. In all honesty if this was how their help was going to be he might stop being a Robin.

… Well maybe not. It wouldn't be like he would be the first side kick/apprentice to do something behind their mentors' backs. So maybe he could continue doing some of the small stuff without them knowing. That way he could still move at his own pace and get lessons in a field he wanted desperately to advance in.

* * *

><p>Jenny Calendar had to suppress a flinch as a large bubble popped from her concoction and released a sickly smelling mist. Despite the foul smell she forced herself to inhale, to see how the potion she was brewing was progressing. Choking back her gag reflex she gave a satisfied nod, confirming to herself that everything was progressing well enough.<p>

It was an old family recipe that if she hadn't already been so estranged from she would have never even dreamed of giving it to a non-member. But what did she care? They sent her here to die because she didn't fit their definition of moral, of clean.

Still, she was the one that accepted the assignment. She was the one that wanted to redeem herself in the eyes of the Family. She wasn't sure what she was really putting herself in danger for because she honestly thought that, and many others in her family definitely did as well, she had strayed too far from her family's ways to go back to them.

Maybe she was doing it so that her mother would actually look at her? To be able to think of her without feeling disgusted and disappointed.

But that was beside the point. The point was that her family sent her here because they found her undesirable, expendable. So she felt it only fair that she ignored a few traditions and laws so some poor kid didn't end up killing himself.

Seriously, she did some dumb things of her own when she was his age but she never went to borderline self-mutilation. At least his heart was in the right place, wanting to help in the 'fight against evil'. Something she found as admirable as she did stupid. Still she wasn't one to judge, nor was she one to enjoy being judged.

Speaking of which…

"You know this would probably go a lot quicker if I did this at home? Using my actual cauldron instead of a beaker from the science lab?" She asked Giles sarcastically.

"Be that as it may, I feel this is for the best." The man in question replied in a firm voice from his spot in the lab, watching the woman with a half eye as he read through the last of Xander's books. He knew he should have been paying her more mind but so far she didn't seem the type to try and poison the boy… It did help that he recognized most of the ingredients she was putting in her concoction and their purpose.

Though he did note with some worry that he had never seen them used in the ways she prepared them. He had tried to ask her about the process but she gave him a flat look and said it was a family recipe she would have to kill for if he asked too many questions.

He honestly couldn't be sure if she was joking or not, witches and their secrets do not like anybody coming between them. He wouldn't be surprised if she tried throwing a hex at him for watching as intently as he was.

Still he had to be sure. The children were under his watch and he would be damned if they didn't live to at least see their high school graduation, further if he had any say. And the woman in front of him was either a step towards that direction or dozen steps back.

He had to be sure, for their sakes. And for his conscience.

Speaking of which he couldn't help but ask, for seemed like the hundredth time that night, "A-and you're sure this will work?"

Jenny didn't bother to suppress her irritated groan as she gave the same answer she had been giving for the last few hours, "For the millionth time, yes. I drank the same thing when I was a child."

It tasted nasty and made you feel like you were burning up for a night but the next morning you would be able to use your magic circuits freely. A much better option than bludgeoning your inner networks with brute force and praying nothing goes wrong. Hopefully it would also fix any damage Xander, and the animal spirit, did to his body while it woke up the remainder of his circuits.

Giles for his part was wishing he didn't have to rely on this still mostly unknown woman to do this but he did not learn most of his magic traditionally. Nor did he gain a great deal of it in what most people would call a decent way. Besides his own family way was to have the father flood the son's system with his own magic, which was only marginally better than how Xander was doing things on his own.

So caught up in his personal musing Giles had almost missed when Ms. Calendar stood from her chair with a self-satisfied clap of her hands. "There, almost done. Now all we have to do is let it sit for a few hours and it's done."

Giles gave an affirmative nod as he marked his spot in the book and moved a rune etched stone to complete a square around the lab station turned witch's cauldron. For a brief moment the counter seemed to shimmer before Jenny couldn't find herself able to look at her former work station. It was like she knew it was there but couldn't find it in herself to really care what was there or even deem it of notice.

In honesty it was a very low level spell and any practitioner worth a dime could find a way around it in a second. Hell, Jenny could think of three ways off the top of her head already but it would do for whatever night staff that worked at the school.

They were all of the non-supernatural verity, they'd checked. After finding out three people on their staff were involved in what goes on at night, with only one homicidal, they thought it best if they checked.

"It should be done by the time we come back in the morning." Jenny said as she retrieved her belongings, "We can give it to him after classes are over."

Giles nodded in agreement as he both heard the effects of the concoction from her and he wanted to be there to observe after the boy took it.

And if something did go wrong with that potion and if his young companion came to any unnecessary harm then any hesitance or restraint the old librarian had been struggling though would instantly disappear. And in all honesty it wouldn't be pleasant for anyone.

* * *

><p>Bouncing.<p>

That was the only way to describe how Willow was walking towards the school. Not in a deliberate sense to gain the attention of the nearby boys, not that a few didn't take notice of the movements mostly hidden by her conservative clothes, but in the sense she was on the edge of jumping or skipping with each step. She was like a toy rubber ball as she moved through the halls looking like she was about to burst in either glee or excitement.

And in her mind she didn't see a reason to not be in such a mood. Because once again the world just got expanded in front of her, an ever happening occurrence for her since she met Buffy. Week after week since their meeting it seemed like something new would appear in front of her and rattle the world view she had previously had.

And as frightening as that notion may seem to other people to Willow it was exciting. Mostly because it meant there was something out there she didn't know, something new, something interesting, something she HAD to learn about.

Magic was just one of many things that been added to her ever increasing list. Though she was a bit miffed that Xander had jumped on the band wagon before and without her.

When she first heard of it she had thought it was a tool used by another monster that Buffy needed to Slay but after hearing the Xander was doing it she couldn't help but feel a desire to learn too. Unfortunately neither Giles nor Ms. Calendar could teach her till they made sure Xander didn't kill himself by accident. Something she appreciated, as it kept her crush alive, but she wished they would hurry up with it.

But at least until then she could watch and take note of everything happening in front of her. And since the two supernatural aware members of the school faculty said they would be fixing some of the damage had done to himself via potion there would be a lot to learn.

As her mind briefly drifted to the possible differences between potion making and chemistry and how the combined fields could advance, both her eyes found a strange sight. A sight of one Xander Harris not moving a single inch as he stared rather intently at his tweety bird watch, beads of sweat starting form on his brow.

"Um, Xander? Are you alright?" She asked cautiously as she approached the boy's seat in the courtyard.

For a second the boy didn't respond with more than an irritated pout before cursing in a hiss, "Damn it, almost had it." He said glaring at the wrist watch while giving Willow a distracted greeting as she sat next to him.

After a moment of silence, with Xander staring at the watch and Willow fidgeting with her skirt, the red head tried again. "Um, Xander what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to understand the inside of this thing." He said as if it was obvious, which it probably was but only to him.

"Wouldn't it be easier to take it apart then?" Willow understood wanting to understand something. She took things apart all the time to do just that, though they were usually much more complex then a seven year old wrist watch.

"No, that's not how the spell works." Xander said absently as he used his magic to once again dive into the inner workings of the watch for what was nearing the hundredth time that day. In honesty he knew enough about the watch that at that point he could reinforce it to be a decent impromptu brass knuckles if he wanted to but he kept on feeling that if he pushed just a bit more he could understand more about it.

He knew where the parts went and he could guess what they could do but he wanted to KNOW. Sure, it would probably be easier just to get a book about clocks or something but not only was it decent practice but it was kind've fun.

Willow visibly perked up, "Spell? What spell? What does it do?"

Xander, who was used to her rapid fire questions, answered absently as he concentrated on the watch. "Structural Grasp. It… kind've gives me the blue print of what I look at."

As Xander kept his attention on examining every little detail of the watch Willow's eyes briefly glazed as she thought of what she could do with such a spell. Not just getting a design of an object but to continuously use the spell as one makes improvements to say a circuit board would be immensely helpful. Though any further thoughts on the subject were stalled as she realized what her friend was doing and where.

"Xander!" She hissed out in a loud whisper, "What are you doing!?" With that said she forced his arm down and breaking his concentration.

"Hey!"

"Hey yourself mister! What do think you're doing? Didn't Giles and Ms. Calendar tell you 'No Magic'? And besides that, what are you thinking doing at school where everyone can see you!"

Xander shrugged on both counts. Partly because he prepared himself for a lecture if they did find out and partly because none of his spells were really noticeable. In fact the only one anyone might notice is Reinforcement and that was only if he broke whatever was in his hand at the time.

"Nothing's happened yet." He finally said to placate her, though it didn't do much.

"That's not the point! They said it could be dangerous!" A mix of anger and worry filled her barely whispered response. The worry came from the fact he was her Xander and she didn't want anything bad to happen to him. The anger came from the fact he was going against the elders of their group.

They knew best so he should be listening to them.

"Eh." He shrugged again. "They said they were going to fix it later today so what's a little more damage."

Willow puffed her cheeks out in irritation, holding back words she knew her mother would never approve of. Honestly this boy was going to give her an aneurism or heart attack one day. "I'm telling."

"What?" He asked in surprise, and some caution because he knew she would. "C'mon Willow. What are we? Ten?"

"Well, you're acting like it."

"Nuh-uh." He said in automatic denial before pausing and realized he just proved her point, hence the smug little expression on her face.

It took some self-control to not stick his tongue out at her.

* * *

><p>When Buffy walked into the library it became painfully obvious that she wasn't prepared for what she was about to see. Her eyes widened with emotion and her fingers twitched in an almost meaningless way as she tried to find a target to put some pain on. Honesty the only reason why she hadn't moved to do so was because she was so worried.<p>

"Xander!?" Her mouth moved only slightly slower than her feet as she was by her friend. A friend who was bright red, sweating and gasping for breath as he tried desperately to keep his balance with a firm grip on the nearby table.

"We did warn him." A vaguely amused voice answered from just out of her sight. Turning her head the Slayer found Ms. Calendar standing with Giles and Willow off to the side, the latter two looking a little worried while the former had an annoyingly amused smirk on her face. "Told him to sit down before drinking it, but would he listen? Nooo, he had to play that annoying macho crap." She gave the boy a rather smug look, "Serves him right."

Before Buffy could even fully contemplate chewing the computer teacher out, both figuratively and possibly literally, Xander grit his teeth and did his best to stand straight. "I'm fine" He ground out, stumbling slightly as he got his feet under him though it seemed like a gust of strong wind would topple him over.

Still hovering near her friend, all prepared to catch him when he eventually fell to his face, Buffy finally asked, "Okay, what's going on?"

"Xander here thought it would okay just to chug the potion without sitting down like we suggested." Jenny said still borderline patronizing as she kept her eyes on Xander. So far the potion seemed to be doing its job, flipping the switch in Xander's body and forcing all the circuits in his body to open up.

Luckily his previous method of opening them didn't seem to have any adverse effect on anything. Sure his body was starting to become feverish, that much was obvious, but that was normal. Still, Willow better be prepared with that water bottle in case he starts to overheat too badly.

As Buffy was caught up with the current events Xander was keeping a count in his head. Before he drank the nasty tasting potion he had opened eighteen circuits by himself, a few still feeling strange from the hyena, and now each was being reopened one by one like a countdown to his total number of circuits.

And he was currently feeling the twentieth opening for the first time.

According to Giles that is where it should have stopped. Because twenty was apparently the magic number for the average magic user but shortly after the twentieth fully opened another circuit he didn't know of opened itself.

And then another.

And another.

Again and again they opened until the final count was twenty seven. Xander gave himself a small pat on the back for being above average in something from the get go.

But then, just like what would happen when any other opposing force disappeared, he collapsed forward. Luckily Buffy was there to grab him before his nose hit the ground.

"Easy there." She said gently as she eased him into a nearby chair, making use of her superior strength to push the protesting boy into the cushioned seat. Willow wasn't that far behind her with the pre-prepared water bottle in hand.

As worried as the red head was she couldn't help the curiosity and excitement that once again bubbled up from her stomach to her brain. Did the potion work? It obviously did something from the still apparent adverse effects.

But if it worked the tradeoff of a high fever for a night for magical powers would be well worth it. Maybe she could convince Ms. Calendar to make her a vial of that stuff too. But that was for later, for now she had a Xander to take care of.

Meanwhile Giles was happy to note Xander didn't keel over and die. He knew the chances of the boy coming to any real or lasting harm were distant, this was more due to his knowledge of the ingredients than faith in his colleague, but it was nice to see his beliefs validated. And it did add a great amount of credit to Ms. Calendar's argument that she just wanted to help.

"So, how many Xander?" Said teacher asked, feeling the boy would prefer that question to another 'Are you alright?' or a 'Do you need anything else'. He already got a dozens of each from both the girls near him.

"T-twenty seven." He gasped after he guzzled half his water bottle.

Both of the magical adept in the room blinked as they found themselves mildly impressed. Due to their lineage both Ms. Calendar and Giles had an above average number of circuits but for a supposed first generation magus like Xander it was surprising. Off the top his head Giles came to two separate theories. One being he had magic somewhere in his bloodline or the second theory being that the Hellmouth 'encouraged' the potential.

While both seemed likely Giles would prefer the first option. God only knew the negatives of the second option. Something to keep an eye on to be sure.

"That's pretty impressive." Jenny admitted simply as she he nothing else to really say. There wasn't really much else to say or do until Xander got over his magic induced fever. The day after though, they would drill the basics and safeties so far into his head that he would be hard pressed to forget, ever.

But for right now, they had to let the boy rest, preferably in his own bed but the stuffy British librarian was insistent Xander stays for at least an hour so he could monitor the boy's recovery. Stupid in her opinion but the more times she proved she wasn't there to kill them, which was an annoying assumption, the more room she'd have to breathe in this over protective group.

And hopefully have a certain super strong blonde stop eying her like she was thinking of a hundred and one ways to skin her alive.

* * *

><p>The wooden sword moved near gracefully through the air as she gave another frustrated swing, instincts telling her more how to swing the sword than Giles instructions. A practiced parry, trust, swipe, keep feet balanced and mobile.<p>

It all came to her as she moved around the cleared space in the library. Movement after movement, swing after swing, the more she did it the more natural it felt. Another benefit of being a Slayer she guessed. Know how to use pointy objects.

Not that it really mattered to her at the moment. All she cared about was working off some of the frustration that had built up in her belly. She had been at it for hours after Xander left and still she felt only slightly better. Still she swung the practice sword a few more times with great emphasis so she could think on the subject a little more clearly.

Again. The dumb, stupid idiot did it again. Shedding away another slice of normalcy to enter a fight he should just leave to her. It wasn't like she had a choice, she tried and failed to ignore it and when she tried to have a normal life at home the bastards attacked her home. She had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, no choice but to fight.

But, Xander, he did. And he chose wrong. He was normal and then he turned himself into some freak, like her. She had hoped that Giles and Ms. Calendar would talk some sense into him, she knew she mentioned the idea to Giles, but no. They encouraged it. Sure they were saying it was for his safety, so he didn't do anything too stupid… again.

Still, it was a form of encouragement that they should have stopped.

They should have pushed him back into being the goofy school boy she first met all those months ago. But if they refused to do even that much to protect one who should be an innocent, a bystander, a civilian, then she was once again left without a choice.

She would be strong enough to be there. Be there to protect him, to protect them. To kill every monster in her path before Xander even realized there was a threat. Nothing was ever going to touch her friends or mother ever again.

It was only a moment later, with a rather dry ironic humor, did she realize she was accepting the duty of the Slayer more than ever.

* * *

><p>Xander had hoped after he talked with her for a little bit that she wouldn't do it but he should have known that it wouldn't have worked. His little sister was a teacher's pet and a rule follower to the near letter. So of course she told his new magic instructors.<p>

The little tattle tale.

So he had Another, note the capital, talk about responsible and safe use of magic. They seemed mollified when he told it was only Structural Grasp, something they considered very low tier and with almost no risk. They asked him not to practice for at least another day when they could show him how to properly use his circuits

Apparently he was doing that at least half wrong too. Or so they said. He was pretty sure he was doing it the right way himself but according to them he knew jack. He'd offer them a benefit of a doubt for now but he was still going to do the physical stuff.

Speaking of which, he needed to find another marital art. While his self-made forms were keeping him on top of things he knew he needed more. Batman knew at least ten before he was able to make his bat style so he needed a comparable number.

Or at least the number that added up to all the gyms with free trials in town.

There was a Tai Chi place a few blocks from the sports store where he restocked his arrows, he might try there. Tai Chi was like Kung Fu right? And Kung Fu was just plain badass if the old movies were anything to go by.

"Alex!" The shout of his name broke him out of his stupor and with a sigh he recognized the call of the 'Happy Drunk Mother'. Which meant he was about to spend at least an hour of dealing with a mother who wanted to relive his childhood and coo about big he's gotten. Seriously, did drinking make people bi-polar or something?

Oh well. He supposed it was better than the alternative versions.

* * *

><p>She couldn't believe she forgot. She and the principal had it planned out weeks ago but it totally slipped her mind. She had gotten too caught up with Xander's problem she had forgotten that she promised the principal she'd help digitize the books that were being shipped to the library.<p>

It was to be a long, daunting, and frankly annoying task.

Open box, pick up book, scan book, save file, put book on shelf, and repeat.

And what was going to make it longer was that Giles had his own deliveries coming that day. Meaning that not only did she have her own books to sort through but had to make sure they didn't get mixed up with the librarian's, unless she wished to cross his bad side.

Luckily she blackmailed a certain group of students to help along with the local Computer Club to help her by basically telling them the sooner she was done with the book scanning the sooner she could teach Xander not to kill himself. Though considering Willow was already in said club and Giles was forced to help her as the librarian the rest of them would have been dragged along anyway.

Still though, with their help she should have it done in one night if some of them stay just a bit later. Which shouldn't be too hard if she worded things right with Xander which, if she read the way Willow looked at the boy right, would have the little red head following after him like a puppy.

A few hours later she would find herself correct as Xander mumbled irritably at her request but moved to go through another stack of books as the majority of the computer club went home. Willow, as expected, agreed to stay later not a second after him. Though Jenny was a bit worried that said girl was going to spend too much time skimming and not enough time scanning the books. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, Buffy had to leave to patrol.

"Hey, Wills, I think that goes into Giles' "No Touch" pile." Xander said almost absently as Willow picked up a rather large and old looking book.

The red head scrutinized the cover for a bit before accepting that Xander was right. Besides the obvious age it was written in a language that she didn't understand. This was obviously not the easy reading or reference material her fellow students required.

After placing the book down in the specified pile in front of the fretting librarian, who had been keeping an almost accusing eye on everyone in the room as he sorted through the "No Touch" pile as Xander insisted on calling it, continued onto the next book.

A little over an hour later Buffy returned and Giles started the daily debrief. Xander had to force himself not to ease up as he had to stay on task. To stay on task meant that the stupid thing would be over sooner and he could get back to learning magic.

And with that mindset things moved quickly along, something Xander wasn't shy about cheering for when they finally finished not twenty minutes later.

"Finally!" He called out looking like he was only two steps away from breaking out into a dance.

Jenny rolled her eyes at the boy's actions. "Oh, it wasn't that bad."

"Says you." His flat tone making the teacher snort in response. "Now can we get to the magic?"

Jenny spared a glance over to where Giles had pulled out a map and had a half annoyed Buffy point something out. It looked like the two of them might be there for a while so Jenny didn't see any reason why she couldn't start the lesson without Giles.

"Alright." She said, clearing the table in-between them so they had a clear view of each other. "Okay, since we need to wait for Giles to do the Circuit check let's do a quick review and get to the bones of the basics." She paused for a moment wondering where to start and how to word it, "Let's start with incantations. Do you know why we do them?"

"To impose our will on the world?" Xander half guessed as he tried to remember lines from his magic books.

"That's… not completely wrong." She admitted, feeling a bit disappointed that he didn't know more. "But what I'm asking you is why do we need to say anything to do that? Why do we need to vocalize for most spells?"

"Um…" Xander shrugged when he found he didn't have an answer.

"It's… I guess the best way to explain it is that it's so we can trick ourselves into believing that we can do it." A brief questioning stare from the boy made her elaborate. "If you don't believe with near absolute certainty that you can when you cast the spell then it will definitely fall apart on you. So to avoid this most spells require words to hypnotize yourself into believing you can do it. Certain words also help you visualize what you're doing making the spells that much easier."

As Xander thought over the teacher's words he realized he was doing something similar without really noticing it. 'Contact'. A single word had made all of his spells noticeably easier and he only really started saying it because it kind've sounded cool when he did a spell.

"Now, some people can do spells without saying words but most of them are either that big headed or thinking the words in their head. Either way, both of them probably still do a little self-hypnotism. Mostly it's a mental image to make their magic… wake up. To make it ready to be used. It makes doing spell that much easier, and a little bit quicker to cast."

"Can you explain that a bit more?" Willow asked from just off to the side, note book in hand and completely ignoring the fact she scared the crap out of the other members of the conversation as they forgot she was there.

Jenny blinked and hesitated for a moment, wondering for a brief instant why Willow was so interested. Then it hit her that Willow wanted to learn to. She gave mental groan at that thought. She was going to have to talk to Giles about that later.

"What I mean is that there's," she waved her hands in circles as she thought of the right words, "A mental image people have that lets them feel their magic better." She hoped that made sense to them because she was having a hard time explaining the concepts to them as she learned such little things since before she hit her double digits. It was almost like teaching someone the basics of your native language. "Most people will usually visualize how they think or feel what their magic is like. You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard someone say theirs involved fire, even when it isn't even their element."

"Element?" Willow asked out again, planning on scraping every little bit of information from the lesson even if it wasn't meant for her.

Strangely, at least for Willow, Xander was the one who answered her, "Everyone has an element Wills." He said feeling a bit at odds with the role reversal himself, "Fire is the most common but there's also water, earth, wind and a fifth that varies on the style of magic. So far I've heard about wood, metal and ether."

Jenny gave him an encouraging smile, "That's very good Xander!" she praised before she began her corrections. "A little out dated, but good. Now days we call the first four the "Commons", since most people are one of them, and the other three fall into what's called the "Exotics", because while not rare people are less likely to have them. There are some people with unique elements but that's incredibly rare."

"Cool." Xander said, absorbing the information and hoping for one of the unique elements. After all, all heroes needed something unique about them. Or at least fire. Not only was it cool but he'd get to barbeque the leeches at his leisure. Ah, the happy places his mind wandered to.

"Don't get too excited." Jenny warned him, "We're not going to be looking into that till well after we find your mental image and make sure you can do what you already know without frying your insides before anything else."

Xander suppressed a rather childish "Awwww" before it even left his mouth. No flame broiled misquotes for him, at least for now.

But he really couldn't wait for the day that was a reality.

* * *

><p>They said it was like a sprain.<p>

He had twisted his magic wrong and it was limping to keep up with the run he was forcing it to keep. And just like a twisted ankle it could heal, if he didn't put too much pressure on it for a while.

But it wasn't like that was going to stop Xander. Continuing along the same analogy he would take small little steps so he could limp along the road to his goal. It was a thousand mile journey to reach it and every tiny bit counted.

That didn't mean he was going to be stupid about it though.

He'd be as cautious as he could allow himself to be, try to stay within a certain limit that he knew he was probably going to stumble on a few times. Still though he was glad his situation wasn't as bad as the time Batman had his back snapped by Bane.

He would recover, hopefully sooner than later, and he would track down that bitch. And the next time they would meet he'd make sure he was strong enough to end her.

She would get hers and Jesse could finally rest in peace.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Again I apologize for both the length of chapter and the time lapse. I really wish I was better with updates but I'm not.<strong>

**Anyways for those looking for a fight, next chapter should, should, have some combat… Hopefully. And before any Type Moon fans complain realize this is a cross. Elements need to be blended.**

**Also, bonus points to those who can figure out what I'm doing to Buffy.**


	11. Chapter 11

**6000 words in and I decide I could do better and restart putting me more than a month behind my intended goal… what the hell is wrong with me?**

**Betaed by Oxnate, go read his stuff in appreciation. **

**Chapter Eleven: Playing with Dolls**

* * *

><p>A hammer rose into the air inside Xander's mind.<p>

And then, just as soon as the image appeared, it came down with a ringing thud.

Power flared through him at a startling speed. So much so that he flinched back, almost falling onto the floor in the process, and his eyes snapped open in shock. Sitting across from his position on the floor was Ms. Calendar, who was looking at him with a rather strange mixed expression of smug and proud.

"Good job Xander! You finally got it!"

In honesty, she had every reason to be proud. Mostly because over the last week she slowly but surely became Xander's primary magical instructor as Giles became distracted by his other duties and Willow's questioning.

She still felt no regret about steering the red head in the Watcher's direction.

Anyway, with the Englishman distracted, Jenny found herself taking almost all the responsibilities of teaching the novice magus. She supposed that she should feel slightly relieved, or maybe a little honored, that the Brit trusted her enough to teach the teen without his usual over the shoulder view. Though she had to admit she was enjoying the task more than anything else, as it combined her love of teaching with her love of magic.

She could understand why so many other magic users took on Apprentices.

And Xander proved himself to be a more than willing and driven student as he did his best to absorb everything she told him. Sometimes she had to wonder what was driving the teen because there was definitely something more there than just wanting to help his friend, the Slayer,. But for right now she was just glad that that all of his effort was being put towards something somewhat constructive.

Though, it did take a little longer than she expected for him to accomplish a solid self-hypnotism trigger. Maybe it was because he had grown a little too used to diving for his magic instead of calling it forward.

But he had finally gotten it!

After little more than a week of trying he had gotten it down!

"Thanks." Xander said with a smile, more at the accomplishment than the praise. Because now he could use his magic quicker, more surely. As sure as that hammer would fall he now knew he could grasp his magic.

"But don't let it get to your head mister." She teased, waving her finger in his face. "You still have a long way to go, even with the spells you already know."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He mumbled, if not a little indignantly. He knew he had a lot to work on, even with the spells he already knew, she didn't need to keep poking at that sore spot.

He'd show her in the weeks to come though, just give him half the chance.

After Xander proved he was able to get a similar result three more times in a row Jenny decided to end to lesson.

"Alright," Jenny said with a clap of her hands, standing up from the floor for the first time in an hour, "That's enough for today. We'll start going over your Reinforcement next time."

While Xander was disappointed about the lesson ending, as they always proved to be enlightening in some way, he knew it was probably for the best. Both for her schedule and his, he had to get to his Tai Chi lessons after all.

He had to suppress a growl of irritation at that thought.

Tai Chi.

What could he say about Tai Chi?

It was boring as hell for one thing.

Slow as hell for another.

And the damn instructor wouldn't stop saying he was "too stiff" or that he was "going too fast". God it was so annoying, but unlike every other Martial Art he had tried he had to pay for this one. While it was relatively cheap, fifty dollars for a month, it was expensive enough that he'd go to every damn class he could that month.

And what long and agonizing month it was going to be.

All he had learned so far were weird foot movements and different ways to slowly move his arms! It got so infuriating that after almost every class he had at the Tai Chi Center he had to go to his practice spot near the park and go over his older styles.

He supposed he should just be happy that he was being more active again. It only took the doctors a damn week to decide that. Not that he really listened. Still, it got his minders off his back.

Especially Willow.

That girl could hover and mother hen like a pro.

After they finished packing away the books and mats they used Jenny grabbed her bag and waved to her student goodbye as she moved towards the library doors, "See you later Xander. Try to get home before it gets dark." She said it so flippantly but Xander could just barely hear the hint of an order in her tone.

He was going to anyway, all he had was a single stake on him so it wasn't like he was going to take the long way home just to kill one of those pale-faced leeches... Not until he was a little bit stronger.

Just a little bit. He knew he was closing in on the strength he needed, he could feel it.

So he answered with an "I'll try." And a promise to see her the next day.

The teacher paused right before the door to give him a hard stare to tell him that the 'try' part of her request was just there for pleasantries.

Xander went to follow her a bare moment later only to pause just as he made contact with his bag. Just as his finger gripped a strap a blueprint started to appear in his mind. A fuzzy and sloppily drawn blue print but one none the less, showing him every square inch of the bag and the contents it held within.

It was more like how one would picture an airport x-ray scan really.

He could see the shape of the bag, the number of pockets, his note books, the gym clothes he brought for Tai Chi, the random writing utensils, the Sun Tzu book Giles recommended he read. The design of the bag and every item in it were on full fuzzy display for him; just waiting for that little extra push of power from him for that perfect image.

But instead of putting just that little bit more into the unwanted spell he shook his head like he was trying to get rid of an annoying thought and went on his way out of the library.

That particular magical hiccup has been popping up a lot lately. He didn't know why but it did. He'd go to grab something and then as soon as he touched it he'd have the blueprint of it in his head.

Something he should bring up to Ms. Calendar and Giles he supposed… As soon as he was sure they wouldn't cancel his magic lessons when he told them.

Still, he wished that those events wouldn't come with a mild throbbing in the back of his skull. Didn't hurt, mind you, it was just distracting.

Case and point being that while he was trying to rub the pain away through his temples he bumped into someone, sending sheets of paper and what looked like an over grown doll spiraling to the ground with their owner. The thing that made Xander feel like more of an ass was that he was still standing, halfway through his next step even, while his classmate was rubbing a sore butt and collecting his belongings.

"Crap. Sorry about that man. My head is a few miles that-away" Xander apologized as he started to pick up the stray papers. "Here, let me get that."

"Thanks." The other teen mumbled, ignoring the papers as he grabbed the doll and straightened out its clothes as he inspected it for damage.

"Ah man, please don't tell me I broke it." Xander whined, already feeling bad and predicting the loss of cash from his wallet to repair it.

The boy gave a wry smile, "Nah, he's tougher than he looks."

Xander tilted his head a bit at the wording but shrugged it off easily enough. "So what's with the doll anyway?"

"Oh, I'm trying out for the school talent show with a ventriloquism act." For a brief second something akin to professional pride snuck in the boy's eye, "And he's a dummy not a doll."

"Well, uh, sorry and good luck I guess." Xander said while rubbing his neck awkwardly, grimacing slightly when his fingers found familiar bite scars. A mark of weakness that reminded him what being ill prepared could cost him.

One of many that he had gained over the last few months and if the Bat clan from comics were anything to go by they wouldn't be his last.

Which reminded him where he was originally going, "Sorry again man, but if everything's good I have to go."

As Xander started to move away he just barely noticed the dummy's head shifting just a bit, like it was trying to get a better look at him as he moved away. Just to rest his fears he paused for a second and chanced a glance back to see the limp wood figure still being adjusted by its owner.

Reasonably sure nothing was wrong he made his way out of the school.

* * *

><p>Xander had the feeling someone was following him.<p>

Had been since he left the Tai Chi Center.

And it wasn't just that creepy little tingling sensation in the back of your neck either. He had seen them, if only briefly, in the corner of his eye as he made his way home.

The sun was just starting to set so it couldn't have been a vampire, according to Giles required reading of Vampyr, even the dullest of the sun's rays burned the leeches. Even stepping outside at the moment would be same as suicide.

Still, it didn't hurt to be careful.

As he neared a corner he pulled his bookbag off his shoulder and started rummaging through it as if he was looking for an errant book, but in truth he found what he was looking for almost as soon as his hand reached inside the bag. He made sure to have a weapon on him, especially stakes, at all times.

He tried to keep things cool as he turned the corner, breath even, look like he was distracted with what he was doing, ect. He had seen it done a hundred and one times in movies and comics so he was pretty cure he could pull it off without a hitch. All he had to do was wait for the other guy to turn the corner after him and bam, he got the… whatever was following him.

He stood near stock still in the alley, waiting in the shadows for his pursuer to reveal themselves.

Xander waited for a few good minutes but no one followed him into the alley. Poking his head cautiously out of the alley's entrance he saw only a few people walking down the streets and all of them now unfamiliar to a passing glance.

Feeling a strange sense of disappointment and mild relief Xander started to make his way back home, with his stake tucked snugly in his waist band ready to be drawn.

It never hurt to be cautious.

* * *

><p>Xander cracked his neck as he opened his locker, hoping to relax the muscles that were still tense from his morning routine. It had evolved over the months, maybe a little obsessively so, resulting in a roughly two mile run every morning followed by makeshift katas, a couple dozen archery shots, and all the different kinds of ups there were to do.<p>

And no matter what he did he was always stiff afterwards, always. Maybe he should try adding in a few more stretches but they always seemed a bit of a waste of time to him. He knew what they were for but he could be doing something a little more productive by his standards.

Tight shoulders, sore legs, burning stomach, usually wore off in an hour or so he hoped it would go away in the next period or two. But despite the pain he was sure the eventual result would be worth it.

After grabbing the notebook he needed for the first period he closed his locker and made his way to the library to see how Buffy's patrol went the other night. God, he couldn't wait to go back on one of those.

It was the front lines after all.

What he had been working towards over the last few months and he couldn't wait to have another taste of it… Hopefully without letting a vampire get a taste of him like the last time he went with them. He didn't count the Hyena fights since those weren't really him, as much as he wanted that strength to be, it wasn't.

Still though, it was something he often looked forward to.

But any happy thought of his future hero-dom quickly left his mind as he entered the library and saw Buffy whispering harshly with Giles. That could not a good sign.

"Uh, hey guys? What's the what?"

Both Slayer and Watcher jerked up from their conversation in surprise, well Giles did. Buffy seemed to just give him a level look for interrupting the conversation.

"A-ah, good morning Xander." The Brit said with his usual stutter. Xander sometimes wondered what was up with that. Was it a speech impediment or was he just that nervous all the time?

But that was beside the point. Something was going on and it seemed to have Buffy fairly riled up.

So getting around greetings he just gave a quick nod and repeated his interest. "So, what was with all the whispering?"

Before Giles could get an answer out Buffy glared at the librarian accusingly, "A student was killed here last night and Giles doesn't want us looking into it."

Xander blinked and tried to process what he was told. And as soon as it did he leveled his own glare at the resident bookkeeper.

Under pressure from the combined glare the Englishman felt the need to defend himself, "I-it is none of our concern." He tried to state firmly but obviously the wording was off because Buffy seemed even more enraged.

"She had her heart ripped out!?" She hissed between a growl and a yell, "How is that not our concern?"

"Wait, what?" He asked Buffy dubiously before doubling his glare at Giles. How could something like that not be their business?

"She was killed with a knife. Forcing me believe that her murder was, ah, human." Giles said, trying his best to stress the last words of each sentence, "A-and as regrettable as her death is this matter is best left to the police."

That's it? That was his reason?

That if a matter was done by a human they had no business in it?

No. No, that just wasn't right.

The very idea of ignoring something like that sickened him.

Batman had trained and honed himself to take on thugs and dons of the streets. To put fear in the common crook. But when aliens, demons and metahumans started to appear on the scene he did not back down. He protected his city and the Earth with everything he had, even if he hadn't trained himself to deal with such things.

And now here he was with the opposite problem, shifting from the paranormal to the mundane, and he was being told to back down.

Again, no. He wouldn't be able to look himself in the mirror if he did so.

Luckily for him Buffy felt similarly to him, if only taking a slightly different route in thought, and was already geared up to fight over it. "That's just it, I'm not buying. Remember the Hellmouth? Mystical activity is totally rife here. Heart removal to me says demon."

Giles sighed, "And as much as I would like to agree with you Buffy, I don't believe that is the case here. While demons are rather simple to understand a human killer is, ah, a bit more complex."

"It still doesn't mean we shouldn't look." Xander said, making his first concrete statement into the conversation. "Demon or not we should still look." There was a killer in his school and he was not going to ignore the son of a bitch.

Giles started to rub his eyes tiredly, trying to think of a solution to the problem he currently found himself in. From the very moment Buffy had heard about the incident, probably within three minutes of entering the campus grounds, she had been hounding him. Demanding answers and actions that he didn't feel comfortable enough to give.

Watcher and Slayers were meant only to deal with the supernatural. The mundane was beyond, or maybe below, their purview. A major reason for this was because, simply put, the rest of the world got in the way of the Watcher Council's mission. The perceived jurisdiction crossing of the police, the seemingly mandatory break down of men who had their whole world view shattered in front of them, and the eventual witch hunts from the confused residents.

But just from the look in her eyes he knew she wasn't going to back down, and he already knew Xander would act without his consent. The best thing he could do was say they would look into it and hope to guide them away from it as he proved to them that the matter was best left to the police.

Though he doubted that.

* * *

><p>When Willow met up with her friend not a handful of minutes after they left the library she found herself surprised at the determined and restrained looks on the faces. It took her only a minute of talking with them to know what was going on.<p>

Emily Djiemanowicz had been killed in their school.

And if what Giles, and maybe Xander, believed was right then it wasn't by just another demon but a person. A human being. And that scared her more than most of the monster's she had seen so far.

Because now the killer could be anyone.

A teacher.

A student.

A janitor.

It scared her just to think about but her friends seemed almost unbothered by the implication. And it was only 'almost' because of how upset they seemed over the very idea of a killer in their school. That mere thought worried her.

She wasn't worried about Buffy because she could handle herself but for Xander she was scared stiff. Sure he knew some martial arts now, apparently, and a few spell but that didn't mean she was even remotely comfortable with the idea of him looking for and facing a killer that cut the hearts out of people.

And it wasn't like she could trust her thick headed friend to just step aside and let Buffy or the police handle things. No, he was becoming far too reckless for that.

Still, she worried and fretted over it as the school day went by. During which the three of them absorbed any and all rumors they could pick up, sharing them with Giles during their lunch break.

So far they managed to rummage together a rough timeline of when she disappeared and her social standings, mostly who disliked her and who might have been a secret stalker. Somewhere between the upcoming talent show's practice and a cross country meet she disappeared and was later found dead in the girls' locker room.

Xander made a not so subtle comment about the room turning into a killing pit, as it was the second time that year they had found a dead body in there. Oddly enough Giles seemed to take him seriously with the suggestion of putting some sort of ward around said room.

Anyway, seeing as Emily didn't seem to have any negative attention brought down on her the group figured it probably had something to do with either event. Or at least that was their best guest.

Still, it was something to go on.

* * *

><p>Something to go on, Xander's ass.<p>

He canceled his magic lessons with Ms. C., he skipped his irritating Tai Chi classes, and he still couldn't find anything as they questioned the talent show kids. Luckily, or unluckily, said kids had already been questioned by the police, a local paper looking for a human interest piece, and just about every student and faculty in the school. So while the local hunting group's questions didn't really stand out most of their fellow students were getting rather testy.

Good news, they had a suspect. Bad news, that suspect went out the window as soon as the possibility presented itself. Apparently the kid, Morgan or something like that, had an alibi of talking to himself in the auditorium when everyone was sure the poor girl died.

Plus if it was him the police would have carted him away by now.

Frustrated Xander started to slam his books into his locker with little care for organization or damage done. He just wanted to get home, or to the his training spot, and try and make up his wasted time.

"Xander?" A voice said from behind him, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Leaning out of his locker he took a peak to see who was talking to him, and surprising himself as he saw the kid from the other day standing there… holding his doll… creepy. And how did he know Xander's name?

"Uh, hey… sorry, I didn't get your name yesterday." Xander said awkwardly.

"Morgan." The kid said nervously before gesturing to the dummy in his arms, "And this is Sid. Can we talk to you for a minute? It's really important."

"Oookay." Xander said slowly feeling even more creeped out than before. He hoped to god that this wasn't some copycat of the Ventriloquist villain from Batman. He wasn't sure he was ready for that level of crazy.

Wait a second, Morgan? As in the kid who was acting off the day Emily was murdered? This could be bad.

Hand still in his backpack he groped around for his spare stake and nodded his head to the boy, encouraging him to speak. But the boy quickly shook his head and his eyes glanced around the hall all too obviously. "Not here. We need to go somewhere where people can't hear us."

Seriously, this kid was not putting him at ease at all. Still, he better see what the kid wanted, if for nothing else to see if he really was the killer or not. There were ways around alibis, even more so if magic was involved like Buffy thought.

Mundane or Magical; Xander was sure he could take the kid.

He trained for it after all.

"Alright, lead the way." Xander said neutrally as he grudgingly released his stake. It wouldn't do to let the other guy know he had a weapon on him. Xander would have to rely on his fist if he couldn't reach his bag fast enough but he was okay with that. He was pretty sure he could take the sickly looking boy.

One of the good things about Sunnydale high was that there was rarely ever a shortage of empty rooms or hallways after school. If they had no obligation to stay, every single person, faculty or student, went running out the door at the last bell.

Not that he could blame them. It was high school, even the teachers hated being there.

Anyway, the point was they had found an unlocked classroom in barely a handful of minutes. Again Xander scowled over such a small thing as an unlocked classroom. He knew it was probably just plain old negligence or forgetfulness but the sheer amount of it in a town of monsters disgusted him. From the morgue to the hospital, places where such things should be obvious, people just ignored the other side of their town.

Shaking his head from those thoughts before he became trapped in them he gave Morgan his full attention, with his open backpack right next to him of course. "So, what'd you want?"

"Actually, it was me who wanted to talk to ya." The voice that spoke was much older and gruffer than Morgan's. In fact it didn't even sound like it was coming from Morgan at all, but rather the dummy he put on the desk.

Xander stayed silent for a second as he gave a deadpanned look from Morgan to the dummy and back, "Great. You're crazy." He said, feeling half tempted to leave. Only half because he wasn't sure if Morgan was 'talk to himself' crazy or 'cut out the heart' crazy. "So what do you want" He continued, still speaking directly to Morgan.

"Hey now, there's no need to be insulting." Morgan voiced for the dummy again… as the wooden doll started to stand unassisted on the desk, "The kid's just trying' to help."

There was a blink of hesitation, that one second where a person freezes for one reason or another from seeing something new, and then the budding demon hunter moved. First his hand dove into his back pack, retrieving the stake hidden within, and then said bag was used as a make shift projectile to distract from his own forward rush.

A Batman move if he ever did one.

But if he was half honest he'd say that boring as hell Sun Tzu book Giles made him read made some good points.

"The band aid method has failed!" The living dummy shouted as it dove out of the way, allowing the back pack to hit Morgan full force in the chest. For some reason the impact of the bag knocked the boy over and Xander knew he didn't throw it that hard. He'd had to be quick, not strong, with the throw.

Not that he paid that much mind more than have the teen, who was probably demon thralled, since he was out of his way. Instead he focused on his second strike as the dummy managed to dodge his rush.

Damn the little bastard was quick.

"Kid! You need to calm down!" The thing said as it dodged another swipe of the stake. "I'm just here to talk."

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say." Xander said sarcastically as he made another dive for the thing. But it quickly moves\d behind a desk and pushed it out, tripping Xander up enough that he nearly lost his balance. The rest of it was lost as the wooden figure slammed its relatively light weight into his knee, forcing him to the ground and having the dummy straddle his neck with a dagger point an inch away from his eye.

"Now are you ready to talk?" The thing had the nerve to ask, making Xander respond by twisting his body so that they flipped positions, disregarding the threat of possibly losing an eye. Something the dummy found him incredibly stupid for.

It also found him stupid for his next course of action, slamming the stake into its wooden chest. Needless to say Xander did not get his desired effect. What he got was a broken point, a small hole in the dummy's tuxedo, and a raised faux eyebrow. "I'm made of wood genius."

Instead of being discouraged, or cursing himself mentally for not Sharpening or Reinforcing the stake, Xander decided to turn the former stabbing implement into a make shift club and stared to bludgeon the thing. "Hey! Stop it! You'll ruin the material!" Before Xander could offer a retort or make for the fifth swing of his new club he felt a painful sting coming from the hand holding the dummy down.

Apparently it thought leaving a few light cuts would make him let go, but he had to keep his hold, he had to keep contact… A sloppy blue print started to creep its way across his vision.

Damn it! It was happening again and it chose the worst of time to start.

A list of materials started to name themselves in his mind. Polyester and cotton made up the miniature tux the dummy wore, hard cedar for the wood of the body, various kinds of string, hair and wire inside replacing the old pulley system that used to be. But there was something else there. Something more.

He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was but whatever it may have been it was soaking into every last piece of the dummy. Saturating it with its energy, making it move, making it talk. For a brief second he tried to get a better look at it, to get a clearer picture, but whatever it was remained elusive and hard to grasp.

Before he could complicate the matter more Xander felt himself being tugged away from his target. "Get off him!" Xander was just dazed enough from his little spell that the feeble tugs managed to pry him off the dummy and make him stubble to the side.

"What the fuck was that?" The dummy asked as it stood up almost robotically. "Seriously, what the hell?"

Xander tried to react to the sudden Structural Grasp and the illusive force in the dummy had given him a massive headache. Honestly he felt like asking the same damn question himself.

What the hell was in that dummy?

"You a witch kid?" The Dummy asked threateningly as it pushed the Morgan away and altered the grip on its knife.

"Maybe." Xander croaked out, trying to sound as threatening as possible.

"Wonderful," The puppet said with the utmost sarcasm, "Do ya still kill demons at least?"

Xander blinked a few times, unsure of what he heard and if he heard it right. A demon puppet asking if he killed demons after Xander tried forcing a stake in its chest. That just didn't make sense to him.

"I try to." Xander said unsurely, trying to get a handle on the situation.

"Good enough," It said in what could be called a tense shrug, if a dummy could be tense, "Now can we talk like reasonable demon hunters or do we have to go another round?"

"You're a demon hunter?" The teen said disbelief clear in his voice.

"Cursed into a dummy and I'm still looking good. What's your excuse?" Xander gave the wooden bastard credit for staying so snide in the situation. "Now can we talk? We've already wasted enough time with you trying to kill me."

As the facts started to connect themselves and build an image Xander's eyes widened in horror.

Morgan brought him here to talk to the Dummy, Sid, not to ambush him but for the living doll to talk to him without Morgan looking crazy. And the dummy never really attacked him, just retaliated and tried to talk Xander down.

And he called himself a demon hunter, as in a person who tracked and killed demons. Which meant Xander just attacked a good guy.

Oh god, he just had a Hero vs Hero moment!

He just tried to kill another hero!

How could he do something so stupid?

It took him a minute to compose himself, reminding himself repeatedly that it had happened to the Batman several times and even more to the Punisher, but he eventually managed to get out a sentence, "So, what did you want?" He tried to sound as friendly as possible since this was the whole shake hands and go clobber the reason they were really fighting part.

"Finally, he takes his head out of his ass." Sid mumbled none too quietly before jumping into one of the desk-chairs and made himself comfortable. "Since we're past the whole knife to the throat stage, I guess I'll get to the point. There's a demon in the school and I need some help trackin' it."

"The heart thief?"

Sid raised an eyebrow, "Caught onto that? Good on you. Most people would have dismissed it as a human thing. Mind you, you should still check in on it in case, you know." He waved in Xander's general direction, "Witches. Anyway, I've been tracking this bastard and his little group for a while now, managed to kill all but one of them. Once I get the bastard then the stupid curse of theirs will finally break."

"And I'm guessing the curse did," This time it was Xander's turn to gesture, "That to you?"

So this was like a Blue Devil situation. Good guy stops bad guy but bad guy traps the good guy in an evil looking form. Seriously, who was going to immediately trust Chucky in a tux?

Somehow the doll snorted, which shouldn't have been surprising at all, and hit the butt of his knife against his wooden chest, "Brought their 'Brotherhood of Seven' down to six and next thing I know I'm on some guy's lap with his hand up my shirt."

"That's… disturbing."

"You don't know the half of it." Sid said with what could pass for a shudder, "But, back to the point, the little bastard's in your school and I need help tracking' him. Morgan here's been helpin' me but…"

"I'm sick." The mentioned teen said off to the side with a shrug, "Brain Cancer. Docs say I a few more months left to live. A little longer if I try that chemo stuff."

"Dang. I'm sorry man." What else could he say? That was just depressing to hear from anyone.

Another shrug, "What can you do? At least I'm spending the last of my time doing something good."

"That's the spirit kid." Sid said, patting his wooden hand kindheartedly on Morgan's back. "Take as many unholy bastards out before you go I say."

Xander found nothing wrong with that statement.

"So what do you need me to do?"

"Help me find the bastard." Sid seemed to like that word a lot, "The thing can turn itself near human for seven years, can't tell the difference, until the seven years are up. Then they start molting and show the world just how ugly their mugs are. Unfortunately to remedy this little problem they take a healthy heart and smart brain, preferably young on both counts, to fix themselves up."

And they already had someone lose their heart, "So we have one more potential victim."

"And if we don't stop the demon before it gets to them then we lose our chance." Sid said with a nod, as if he was finishing Xander's thought. Even if the boy hadn't quite thought that far ahead yet.

Xander just gave a nod, "Okay, I'll help you but I need to tell the rest of my group."

"There's a group of demon hunters here?" Sid asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.

Xander rubbed his neck in thought, "Well I wouldn't really call us that, but we got a Slayer and a Watcher."

"A Council group then?" The Dummy half asked, losing much of his optimism and replacing it with disgust. "Wonderful. Better than nothin' I guess."

Xander didn't really know what to say to that, as he only had at most a half idea what the dummy was talking about, so he just decided to pick up his backpack and forget the comment. Though as he started to lead the puppet and Morgan to the library Xander realized there was something still bugging him.

How did the putter know he was a demon hunter? A young and amateurish one by his own admission but still a hunter; but how could have Sid known?

Curiosity killing him halfway to their destination he decided to ask.

"The bite marks kid." The Dummy said, resisting the urge to tap the side of its neck while there were still witnesses around, "Figured you were either a hunter, someone saved by one that could lead me to some help, or one of those juice box whores."

"Juice box whores?"

"You know, those bite junkies." Sid received a blank look, "You really do know jack shit don't you?"

"Hey," Xander said indignantly, "I just started okay."

"Yeah, whatever ya say kid." Sid said with a roll of his eyes but decided to throw Xander a bone, "I'll fill you in on a few things while your Watcher friend goes on an hour long speech about god knows what."

* * *

><p>It seemed that the library was the center of madness, or so it seemed to the random passing by students. Every time someone went in there to grab a book, audio file, or try to get a moment of silence they walked right into strangeness.<p>

Go in there one day and see a tiny blonde doing complex and rather vicious looking movements with a wooden sword. Go in there another day and see the computer teacher and some kid sitting down like they're meditating with incense burning around them.

But the sight that greeted students of Sunnydale high brave enough to open the library doors that day was stranger than usual. Because seriously, a talking doll holding a knife and explaining the best ways to stab people with one of the local losers hanging off of every word it said was just creepy. And that didn't even get into how busy the room was with the training blonde, the red head that looked up with a rather suspicious guilty look on her face as she covered the computer screen with her hands, and the librarian mumbling to himself as he paced around the room with an old looking book in his hand.

And how that one kid was sleeping through the whole mess no one knew, all they wanted to know was how quickly they could leave the room.

"That happen often?" Sid asked, stopping his demonstration of how best to deal with an unknown demon.

Xander just shrugged, "It happens sometimes, we're trying to play it off as an after school study group turning into a small club until Giles can set up a proper ward." Which was taking forever to setup for whatever reason.

"Uh-huh," Sid said skeptically before moving back to what he was doing, "Now, like I was saying, you need to use the terrain more. There are a whole mess of make-shift traps and weapons you can use to buy yourself a little time…"

Sid had taken a real shine to the kid, especially after he discovered he wasn't being brainwashed by the uptight Brit group, and decided to teach him a few things he'd need to know in their line of work while they waited for the local brains pull up the needed info.

While he never did it himself Sid always admired the group dynamic some hunters deployed. Instead of being just one person trying to do everything they had multiple people specializing in what needed to be done.

Like right now, that cute little red head was using all the information Sid had gathered over the last seven years and narrowing down the suspect list with her computer. While at the same time the Watcher was going through book after book looking for the telltale signs of the species they were hunting.

And all the while the Slayer was gearing up for a fight, going through sword forms like it was her job. A pretty looking dame if he ever saw one but, damn, was she scary. Though he supposed that's how all Slayers were.

For brief moment Sid let his mind wander into the memory of a rather nimble Korean Slayer he had the, mmmm, pleasure of meeting.

"Sid?"

"And I'm back! Sorry got lost down memory lane for a second there. Where were we?"

* * *

><p>Four names.<p>

Out of hundreds of students they managed to narrow the list down to four names.

Or more accurately Willow narrowed the list down. Breaking down every little clue Sid gave her and coming up with the most likely suspects in record time. The times people moved to town, a rather flaky background before the move, the mid teen age the last of the bastards seemed to prefer, a recent string of absences, Sid's suspicion of the school's Talent Show and so on.

Sid was damn impressed, he even went on to compliment such a fine lady on a job well done. Or he was halfway through said compliment that was turning the red head into a tomato when Xander whapped him on the back of the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" The Dummy demand though he felt no pain.

"No hitting on the little sister." Xander said with a mild glare, "To do so is to risk being used to start a marshmallow roast."

"Hey now, I'm just trying to compliment a lady." Xander's glare increased, "Alright, alright, jeez. Didn't picture you as the big brother type kid." Sid said as he rolled his eyes and jumped down from the table, "Now down to business, let's go check these folks out."

Xander nodded, agreeing with the plan as he looked over the list and picked the first name off it. "I'll take the Laski kid."

"And I'll take… whoever's next on the list." Sid said. Xander supplied the name as moved out of the room for his own target. "Jones. C'mon Morgan. We got work to do!"

"Actually Sid, do you mind if I stay here?" Morgan said from his chair, the one he hadn't left since he entered the library. "Head's bugging me again."

Sid's wooden features shifted to what could be passed as worry and pity, "Want me to go and grab your pills?"

"Nah, just need a nap." Morgan said waving him off. "You got more important things to do anyway."

"If you're sure kid." Sid said sounding doubtful but kept his mind solidly on the mission. He was too close to let his chance slip away.

Though since his usual mode of hide in plain sight transport was out, and his preferred replacement just walked out the door, he turned to the now available choices. And as much as he wished he could have picked one of the lovelier looking options it seemed like the red head was having a miniature break down that the Slayer was trying to contain he had to make do with the stick-up-the-ass Brit.

Not like he was doing much anyway, flipping through old books for information they already knew. Besides, it looked like he wanted to run out of the hormone filled room anyway.

* * *

><p>She did her best not to cry while Xander was there, her eyes may have watered and her lip quivered but she managed to keep it all in until he left the room. But as soon as that door swung behind him her walls started to crumble.<p>

It was just one stupid little sentence, one spoken in her defense even, and yet it hurt. It hurt so bad.

A sister.

That's how he saw her.

A little sister.

Not cute, not hot, not even girlfriend material. To even think of her as such in his mind would be incest. A taboo, something forbidden because it was so disgusting.

The idea of like liking her disgusted him so much he couldn't even consider it.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay." Buffy said as she rubbed circles in the crying girl's back. And that was all she could do, offer small words of comfort as she let the red head cry it out. It was really the only way to deal with such things.

Sure there were important things to be done, some could even correctly argue that they were more important than a broken heart, but she was going to be there for her friend. Buffy wouldn't leave until that last sob left Willow's lips.

Besides Xander and that puppet demon hunter were on it. And as much as she hated Xander's… zeal in their night activities she could for once appreciate it. As not only was the job getting done without her involvement but it caused him to leave the room.

Besides they were just supposed to see if the people were after were human or not. Just a quick look see, nothing more nothing less. How much trouble could he get into?

…

That stray thought almost made her stand up and chase after him. Because even in what should have been the safest of situations he seemed to find trouble. But the red head's shaky hold on her shoulders kept her seated.

Her actions and mind divided she didn't know what to do. She had a responsibility to both friends and she couldn't decide what to do. Help the emotionally broken girl who might break more if she left or chase after the boy who only had a chance of running into trouble that could kill him.

Damned if she did, damned if she didn't.

She really hated her life.

It seemed to be filled with nothing but drama and demons.

Sighing internally she stayed firmly rooted in her seat, accepting one duty over the other for both convenience sake and a bit of logic. Xander's problem was only a possibility, a dangerous one but with only a chance of happening, Willow on the other hand wasn't showing signs of recovering anytime soon.

But as resigned to the fate of soothing the distressed girl in her arms Buffy was still aware of the room around her. From the ticking of the clock on the far wall to the soft snores Morgan was producing, she heard it all.

So when the door to the library opened her head immediately tilted to take a view. It was a rather strange sight really, some kid in a magician's outfit look disheveled and tired. He seemed to do a double take at the crying girl in her arms and licked his lips. "Uh, hey, is Willow Rosenberg here?"

Buffy narrowed her eyes at the obviously unneeded question, as his eyes wouldn't leave the red head's shaking frame. "She's a little busy right now."

"It'll only be a couple of minutes, it's real important."

"It can wait till later." Buffy said firmly, giving the haggard boy a dark glare in the process.

"No," The teen pulled a rather long looking butcher knife from behind his back, "No it can't."

* * *

><p>He was running out of time.<p>

His skin was already starting to molt and his hair was falling out at a rapid pace. If he had to give his best guess he'd think that he had only two days left before he became his full demon self, and thus revealing himself to that damn persistent puppet.

That ever persistent nuisance would end him and kill off his line.

They should have killed the chunk of wood back when he was human instead of turning him into a near immortal pain in the ass. Oh, at first the bastard's suffering was worth it but after brother after brother was killed off by the revenge seeking doll there were some serious doubts.

And then there was the fact the police were now looking for a heart thief, putting people on edge, making his job all the harder. If only those damned humans hadn't walked in then he would've had time to hide the body.

Needless to say, he was worried.

His continued existence hinged on him finding the parts he needed to keep his human façade. He already had the healthy heart he needed and now all he needed was mind just stuffed full of juicy knowledge. And honestly, despite everything that was going wrong, he managed to find the perfect brain.

Sure, it wasn't all that easy but the road signs were there. Pointing him where to go.

The numerous tutor signs on the board, all the teachers' praise, always getting the highest grades in class, and just the way she glowed in class whenever she raised her hand. Oh yes, Willow Rosenberg was the perfect target.

Young and smart, oh how delicious.

The tutor signs said she'd be there in the library after school hours if needed which, while a little bit too public for his taste, suited him just fine. It wasn't like any of the other humans there could stop him.

When he entered the library he saw her, crying into some tiny blonde's arms over some high school drama. Such an easy target, so wracked in emotions she probably couldn't even move. And the only one that seemed to be of any threat was sleeping on one of the sofas. He'd give the boy a quick stab to the chest after he killed the blonde.

But that never happened.

Because, as soon as the knife was in view the blonde was on him in a near blink, grabbing his hand and crushing it under impossible pressure. As he screamed and dropped the knife her dainty little hand crushed itself into his chest, snapping a pair of ribs in an instant.

Not human.

Whatever the girl was she wasn't human.

Too fast.

Too strong.

Too overbearing.

If he wanted to survive he had to give up his mortal skin. It would make changing and adapting later harder but he had to live, he had to survive.

All too quickly everything human about him started to disappear, skin sagging and tearing itself apart to make room for his much larger form. Half way through this transformation he attempted to let out a bellowing roar to get the possible half-demon girl to back off.

Though it seemed his theatrics were unneeded as the girl paused, for just a second, to take in his new form and say, "Eewww!" And that second was all he needed to land a decent haymaker on her with his full demon strength.

But the blow didn't even knock her off her feet. All it did was push back a few steps. Steps she quickly filled as she spun her body into a rapid pirouette, building up speed for a devastating kick to his already injured ribs and forcing him to skid along the floor.

He barely got out a growl as she literally flipped through the air and landed on his chest. "Willow! Stake!" The last of the Brotherhood of Seven tried to move, pushing with all his might to get her slight frame off him.

He succeeded, sending her sprawling into the air. But to his horror she landed on her feet with an unnatural grace and kicked him a half second after she landed.

The demon knew he was out matched, pathetically so, but he wanted to live so he continued to struggle. Continued to try and get to his feet. And whether it was to run or to fight he didn't care, he just had to stand. He just had to move.

He heard his target yell out to the blonde and in his peripheral he could see something flying through the air. And then there was pain. Blossoming from his chest as the blonde caught and drove the sharp piece of wood home.

"That's for Emily." The girl near growled as she let his body hit the floor.

As his body fell to the ground the creature calling itself Marc prayed that this inhuman girl didn't realize he was going to playing possum for the next few hours. It may hurt having a having a piece of wood lodged in his heart but it sure as all was better than dying.

Besides, he had a spare one he was going to trade up to anyway.

* * *

><p>Buffy looked at the corpse in disgust, for multiple reasons really.<p>

One, because it seemed like this was one of those demon species that wasn't kind enough to turn to goo or evaporate when they're killed. Two, for what the creature represented and how many lives it had taken in its decades long killing spree. And three, from just how plain ugly it was.

At least it was dead and Sid could have his peace.

She wondered where the little dummy was. He'd be a bit disappointed that he didn't get to kill the thing himself but at least he could have the satisfaction of seeing the thing dead…

Wow, she was getting morbid from living on the Hellmouth.

"Is it dead?" Morgan asked from where he was half jumped out of his chair, obviously woken up by the fight and in a mid-panic.

"Looks like." Buffy said almost uncaring as she went over what just happened in her mind once more. Monster came, monster fought, monster got killed, but why did it come to the library? …When it entered it said it was looking for Willow and Willow was probably the smartest student in school… And this thing was looking for smart brains so that meant…

That thing was going to kill Willow!

She gave the thing an extra, and completely justified, kick just for that. She could have almost sworn it made a noise when she did that but as her hearing couldn't pick up any breathing or heart rate so it must have been her imagination.

* * *

><p>A bust.<p>

Both of them.

Laski and Jones were in the clear as best they could tell. No hair loss, no rash, no overly covering clothes. All the usual signs for the seven year dead line just weren't showing.

It was rather disappointing really.

The two separate search parties met up outside the auditorium where the talent show, and their targets, was being held. The librarian said he spotted the third and handed Sid over to Xander to investigate.

"It's not him either." The Dummy said irritably, already giving the student a once over from a distance. He knew the signs so well that his gut would just broil if he even saw a hint of them, and the kid had none.

"Well," Xander started, shifting Sid uncomfortably. It was weird to think he was holding a full grown man like a child. "That's good right? I mean, the last guy on the list has to be him right?"

"Yeah, but he ain't here." The Dummy mumbled irritably, "I checked near every skin bag in this place when we got here and nothin'. Maybe a few thin bloods in there but not the prick I'm looking for."

"Thin bloods?" Xander asked, ready to greedily take in any information that the experienced demon hunter could give.

"You know, the people whose great granddads were demons." Wooden eyes rolled to look up at Xander, "You really need to catch up on this stuff kid, I mean, how long you've been doing this?"

The math wasn't hard to do in his head, Buffy came in January and it just turned into May the other week so, "About five months."

"Not much but sure as hell a lot longer than a lot of hunters." Sid said after a moment of thought, taking a bit of time to look over at the stuttering librarian as he made some inquiries. "How'd you get in anyway?"

At first he shrugged, "I met Buffy, had a bit of a crush and wanted to impress her." He said easily but a steely look started to solidify on Xander's face, hardening the further he got into his explanation. "And then the vampires took my best friend and turned him… I killed it but it was more of an accident than anything."

So the kid was one of those types. The angry and broiling avengers. A lot of hunters start out that way, even he did. One of the top two reasons for joining the hunt, right up there with being born into it.

"You get the vamp that did it?"

"No." The boy bit out bitterly, "It attacked Buffy's place a few nights ago while she was away and kicked my ass."

"Any fight you walk away from is a good fight kid." Sid said seriously, "Besides she took you off guard, never a good thing. You can't just fight these things head on, even with your voodoo. You gotta kill them in their sleep, stab them in the back, poison their drinkin' water, burn down their house. Whatever it takes to take them out and keep you alive."

Xander wasn't sure how he felt about such tactics, they didn't seem very heroic. Sure Batman and a few of the other non-powered heroes used sneak attacks and even poison a few times but still they fought on the frontlines. Against all odds they fought things that were beyond them head on.

But people like the Punisher, and Frank Millers Batman, didn't hold any punches. They used any means or tools necessary, within their personal codes, to get the job done.

… He'd have to think on this.

"W-while Mr. Holmes seems to be in the right I still don't see any sign of our last suspect, Marc Green." Giles said as he approached the group.

"Maybe he ran knowing Sid was going to get him?" Xander offered, trying to shake himself out of his confusion.

"No, bastard needs his parts. It's not just to blend in but the only way they can live for a decent chunk of time." Sid's voice was gruff with irritation, "And he ain't leaving this school, too many young hearts and smart minds to ignore."

"Perhaps he went to home to regroup?" The librarian mused out loud, adding his own opinion. "Trying to stall or mislead you somehow?"

"Maybe." If wood could pout then Sid would be doing it.

Agreeing with Watchers? What had he become?

Looking up at Xander Sid asked, "Think your red head can find the creep's address?"

Xander snorted, "If it's on a computer, Willow can find it."

"Then let's go." Sid cheered.

It was a grim cheer, if only to his ears, but a cheer none the less. And he had every reason for it.

After all, it would all be over soon.

* * *

><p>"What the…" Sid was for a loss of words as the three of them swung open the library doors. He had expected some still semi emotional girls and a sleeping Morgan when they returned, he was not prepared to see the demon he had been hunting for over half a century on the floor skewered through the heart with a stake.<p>

It was either too easy or his birthday.

"Kid, grab me an ax or something." Sid whispered urgently. He knew the thing wasn't dead, just stalled and in pain. Playing dead because it thought this group wouldn't know any better.

Mind you, it was stupid to leave the body out in the open but hey he wasn't going to complain too much.

"What?" Xander asked a bit too loudly for the older hunter's taste.

"Get, an, ax." He hissed, jumping from Xander's arms and approaching his quarry. "That thing's not dead. You have to get the head too."

Across the room, where Buffy was standing with Willow and Morgan, the Slayer's head instantly snapped up and glared at the corpse. Unfolding her arms from the still shaking red head she stalked towards the creature, fully intent on ripping off its head with her bare hands.

And the scary part was that she probably could.

Unfortunately, Buffy wasn't the only one with beyond human hearing. The demon tried to make a break for it but even as inhuman as it was having a stake jammed into your heart would slow down anyone.

Though, surprisingly, it wasn't Buffy who reached the demon first. No, instead it was a rather rabid puppet with a surprisingly high vertical leap. "Oh, no you don't you little shit. Me and you got one last dance."

What happened next seemed like something out of a Chucky movie.

Sid's jump only got him about chest high with the demon but that didn't seem to bother him as he stuck his knife deep in its gut and started to climb up its torso and towards the neck, making extra sure to get a solid grip on the stake in its chest. Twisting it in deeper as he made his ascent. All the while the demon tried to buck, flail and pull the dummy off to little effect.

Sid was an expert at what he did and he had gotten used to the pros and cons of such a small body, tailoring his fighting style to fit it. With his new wooden form he could risk actually grappling with a demon without worrying about the various poisons and barbs that some were known to have. Which was a good thing considering how light he was, he needed to be able to hold onto his opponents while he stabbed them in the vitals.

The fact his knife was from the Church and had literally been blessed to hate anything that wasn't human was a plus. Thing ate through demon flesh like acid. Made it bit hard to scale the bastards but it was worth it.

He felt its hand trying to grip him again and he deftly twisted his knife around, still holding onto the stake as he did so, and slashed its wrist. He wasn't sure if he got any tendons or not but it sure as hell made the bastard let go.

Sid felt his new ride jostle and then stop its bucking, replacing it with a fidgeting struggle. Peeking to the side he could see the kid holding the demon in a full nelson, which was stupid but judging by the fact he was actually holding the bastard steady probably meant he was using some mojo to make himself stronger. Luckily this version of demon wasn't toxic but the next one might be.

He hoped the Watcher would set the kid straight on that after the fight because Sid knew he wouldn't be able to.

"Buff, would you hurry up with that ax!"

"I'm looking!" He could hear the fumbling of weapons in the far corner of the room but he didn't care, he could do this himself.

He had to do this himself.

"I got it." Sid gritted out as he hauled himself up to the creature's neck and started to push his knife down. The knife's hatred immediately started to bite down into the creature's neck, burning and melting through flesh, "Hold him still kid." The dummy growled as he placed one of his wooden hands against the back of the blade and pushed down with all his might, ignoring how his own knife started to burn his hand.

He knew his knife hated him just as much as anything else out there. He stopped being human when that curse hit him.

The blade hit bone and all the demon could do was let out empty aired shrieks. "Why don't you just die already!" His left hand was down to a backed stump but still he pushed down. He was almost there, he was almost the…

* * *

><p>The demon fell limp in Xander's arms, its head lulling to the side holding on only by a piece of chunky skin. It was weird that no blood was flowing out but he wasn't about to complain about life's small mercies.<p>

"Don't need the ax anymore Buffy." Xander called out as he dropped the demon to ground, Sid still clinging to the thing for some reason.

"I can see that." The Slayer said wryly with the long awaited ax propped up against her hip.

"It's over, isn't it?" Morgan asked from the sidelines, his eyes lying on Sid sadly.

"Looks like." Xander said mildly as he nudged the corpse, "Hey Sid, can you get off that thing? It's starting to get a little creepy."

Sid didn't answer him.

"Sid?" Xander bent down and tamped the dummy and still received no reaction.

"He's not going to answer you." Morgan said a bit sadly if only a little resigned, "The demon's dead so he's free."

"Free? What do you mean free?" Buffy demanded, asking the question both Xander and Willow were wondering.

"I-I believe what Mr. Shay is saying is that, um, without the demons' curse to keep him here Sid's soul was finally able to move on."

"Couldn't he just, you know, go back to his body?" Willow asked, speaking up for the first time in what felt like hours.

"I'm afraid that in all likely hood, given the years Sid has supposedly been hunting, that his body is in no condition for his soul to return to."

"But that's not right." Xander said with confusion deep in his voice. Yes heroes died in the line of duty, even Superman did once even if he did come back, but they weren't supposed to kill themselves. Die protecting someone, die for a cause, die for an ideal, not for yourself. Not for your relief.

It wasn't right!

It didn't make sense!

"He said he wanted to end it on his terms." Morgan said with a shrug, "I can get that."

"It's still not right." That was not how heroes were supposed to die.

Sid could have done so much more.

* * *

><p>Joyce Summers was worried.<p>

Over a lot of things really, but mostly for her daughter.

Sure most of her worries fell under the normal mother purview. Was Buffy safe? What was she doing? Where was she? Why wasn't she home even now that the sun was down?

And then there were the worries that came since they moved to Sunnydale. Was she adapting well? Was she making the right sort of friends? Was she getting involved with all the gang activity in the small city? Did she need to hire a psychiatrist again? Was she going to have a relapse?

And finally there were two worries that came with the latest news from her doctor. Joyce had to wonder what she should do and what could happen to Buffy.

The doctor said it was a rather low risk surgery, that the lump in her brain was totally operable at this stage and could be removed with little trouble. The problem with that statement was that despite the fact he put low and little didn't change that he said risk and trouble.

As in something may go wrong.

Something may go wrong and then what would happen to her little girl?

Her ex-husband Hank had been distancing himself more and more from Buffy over the last few months. Fewer phone calls, weekend visits becoming near nonexistent, and the only thing that even seemed consistent was the child support he was court ordered to give. And honestly, with all the floozies she saw coming in and out of his hotel room during the divorce she wasn't going to trust her daughter to him.

Maybe one of her sisters could take care of Buffy if something went wrong. She knew they would, family was important to all of them but… Oh, it was all too hard to think about, even if she knew she needed to.

Just like how she needed to tell Buffy. The surgery was slated for the coming month and she didn't want the teen to be caught by surprise. She had to tell her, and preferably sooner rather than later.

It was an hour into these thoughts, along with reading various materials on the surgery and her condition, that Buffy came home.

"Welcome home Buffy." Joyce said mildly, trying to keep her voice level despite her nerves.

"Hey mom" Buffy's voice was nowhere near as neutral as Joyce's. It sounded like she had been crying and if the puffiness of her eyes were of any indication she had been.

"Oh, sweetie, what's the matter?" Joyce beckoned her daughter to join her on the sofa, flipping over the documents she was reading and putting them out of sight. It obviously wasn't time for that just yet.

But sooner or later, she'd have to tell her.

* * *

><p><strong>An:<strong>

**And that's done, finally. Seriously I got pissed when I realized just how bad the original draft was. I wasn't following the butterflies at all. Hopefully this version showed you just how different things are starting to turn out to be.**

**Oh and special treat for anyone who can figure out what Xander's doing wrong with his magic this time. Judging by my update rate you have a long time to guess.**


	12. Chapter 12

**So this chapter isn't really complete, not really, hit a bit of a writers block a few months ago and it hasn't progressed much from where I stopped. So I figured I'd make this a chapter and try to make another chapter, so, yeah. Because of this it is un-betaed so tell me if things are messed up.**

**Oh, and I've fallen into an awesome Fandom known as Worm. It's an absolutely amazing web serial that you all should take a look at as soon as you get the chance.**

**Chapter Twelve: A Funeral for a Dummy**

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They gave Sid as proper of a funeral as they could.

It was a small affair without a proper grave; just a ditch Xander and Morgan managed to dig in one of many parks in Sunnydale. It was in an out of the way niche off the beaten trail a bit, hard to notice but easy to find.

Seemed to a lot of areas like that actually.

The ceremony was without much fanfare, just the small group in the know paying their respects to a fallen compatriot with Morgan saying a few words in the puppet's honor. Apparently the two met while Morgan was trying to get a few more joys out of life at one of the seedier clubs in town and picked up the wrong date to get along with.

Sid saved his butt from the leech and well, the rest went down in Watcher Diary history.

It was a decent ceremony all and all, even if it did half feel like they were burying a dog instead of a fallen soldier. Seriously, there had to be at least one cemetery that wouldn't have minded such a strange burial in that town. At least they managed to make him a semi-presentable tombstone, which was really a slab of rock Buffy easily chiseled some words in it.

Sid. ?-1997. A Fallen Hero.

Three lines and, disturbingly enough, that was all they really knew about him.

Sure they only knew him for a few hours but they should have known more about the guy who fought next to them. Or so the younger members in attendance thought while the two elders gave silent prayers to Sid's departed soul.

Jenny hadn't even met the puppet, man really she supposed, herself but thought it best for her to pay her respects. Though, the curse that Sid was forced to suffer under brought up many troubling thoughts to her mind. Most of them involved an old family duty and the morality behind it.

She always had he doubts of course, even before she took up the rite to redeem herself, but now the inherent wrongness of it all just seemed to stick out to her. Especially when it came right down to it her family wasn't that much better than a group of demons that routinely ripped people open.

That particular conclusion disturbed her greatly and would probably weigh on her mind for the rest of her life.

For now though, she would be lost in the moment of silence that was being held for the fallen puppet along with the rest of the local hunting group.

Said silence seemed to turn awkward as none knew what to say or what to do next. Eventually Xander had broken through the quiet and offered to walk Willow home. The look on her face as she turned and looked away from the boy was almost painful; the same could be said about the amount of confusion on Xander's face. "I'm fine. Buffy can take me."

"If you're sure…" Xander said, his hand still half raised to help guide her out of the grave site. He seemed confused on what to do next as Buffy started to direct the red head away, casting a glance over her shoulder to give Xander a sympathetic glance. "Guess I'll see you later."

As the girls walked away Xander could only watch, feeling vaguely like he did something wrong. He couldn't remember any recent incidences where he tasted his foot, so what could he have done? Willow only ignored him like that when he said something particularly offending and or stupid.

Maybe he could apologize for whatever stupid thing he had said to her later, when she was actually looking at him. Experience had taught him trying before then earned him a long stint under the cold shoulder treatment.

And he would miss his little sister too much to put up with weeks of dismissals.

"Hey Xander, you alright there." Ms. Calendar asked, tapping him on the elbow to gain his attention. The boy seemed to be upset, whether over the funeral, Willow's brush off or both she didn't know.

"Huh?" He says in half surprise of being pulled out of his bordering brooding musing, "Yeah, I'm good."

"Want a ride home? We can talk about you're next lesson on our way." She half offered, trying to think of something to cheer the boy up.

Xander shook his head, and gave her a brief smile for her offer. "Nah, it's alright. Was going to run back anyway."

"If you're sure." She said with a half way hesitant shrug, "I'll see you on Monday."

"Later Ms. C." Xander waved before moving towards Morgan to both give his condolences and see if they were still on for the next day's plan of pool at the Bronze.

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In any other mood Xander would have taken Ms. Calendar up on her offer, always excited over a new opportunity to get stronger, but not that day. Despite as he tried to put a positive spin on things he found himself frustrated.

An empty hero's death.

Hollow to his eyes and he still couldn't understand it. Not how Sid went on relentless quest for it or how everyone else in their group seemed mildly glad for the puppet. Like, somehow his death was for the best.

He didn't get it!

It's all fine and good to sacrifice yourself in the line of duty, but it's another thing to seek it.

Sid could have done so much more, taught them all so much, but he threw it away! Sure he stopped a whole cult of villains but imagine how many more he could have ended if he stayed.

At least his run was getting rid of some of his frustration. Again, working out was strangely meditative.

He was sure he made for an odd site, what with him running in an odd fitting suit and stopping every so often for a quick combination of moves. Moves that were coming out much smoother than the weeks prior, something that Xander was pleased to note.

He was sure that by the end of the school year he'd have his own fighting style, one which he was confident to say he'd be very competent with.

And he couldn't wait to test it out on the first lucky leech he ran into.

See! Happy thoughts already and only on the first twenty minutes of his run!

Wait… crap. He ran by his house like fifteen minutes ago.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Buffy was feeling stressed.

And not from the usual Slayer messes she had to deal with.

No, her stress was actually coming through normal people channels for once.

Friends and family.

The friends' problem stemming from Willow being unable to handle the apparent view point Xander held for her. Sure it was a bit harsh to get it said so bluntly, and unknowingly, but Buffy thought it was probably for the best in the long run.

Better to know now rather than later anyway.

But the strain of knowing has put a real cramp on Willow's willingness to even be in the same room as Xander. And the poor boy didn't even know what he did wrong.

For the past week he had been trying to get the red head to talk to him but was met with cold shoulders and dodged greetings. He went as far as asking Buffy if she knew what was going on but she was only able to tell it was girl stuff.

And, like a typical guy, that did enough for him to give Willow the little bit of the space she needed.

Buffy figured a few more days, maybe as soon as the weekend, Willow would be fine again. Or fine enough that she wouldn't feel the need for a shoulder to cry on.

Still, that didn't help her with her own need to vent. She was feeling major stomach turns with her father coming for one of his weekend visits. One of the, like, seven where he hadn't called ahead and canceled.

So needless to say she was excited and scared at the same time. Excited to see him again and scared to see him again. It had been nearly a month since his last real visit.

And she couldn't reveal these feelings to her mother who was having very similar feelings leaning more towards the negative, or to Willow who was going through her own drama and didn't need Buffy's on top of that.

Xander and Giles were near automatically ruled out of the whole venting procedure. The former cause he's a teenage boy that, as sweet as he was, wasn't all there in the head and the latter cause he was only good at the demony side of her life.

And the nightmare of that ugly faced vampire she had the night before certainly wasn't helping matters any.

So, antsy and tired, Buffy found herself heading into her science class, which was currently having its third teacher since her transfer, with an only slightly depressed Willow. They came trickling in at the last second like near every other student in the class.

Near their usual seats Xander was cracking wise with one of the boys in their class. Just another one of the increasing examples of Xander getting out of brooding mode, though he did have a bit of a relapse after Sid's death.

"Hey guys, you'll never guess what incredible sin me and Wendell here committed today." Xander greeted with mirth in his voice, "We stood in Queen Cordelia's light."

"I am so ashamed." Wendell said, clearly enjoying playing along with Xander's little skit.

And it was amusing enough to get a smile out of the demurred girls, which gave Xander a small smile of his own. "So, did you guys enjoy last night's reading as much as I did?" He asked with faux excitement.

"Oh yeah." Buffy answered back in a much drier tone, "It was a real page turner. Not at all like I was falling asleep after every line."

"I know, right. Totally enthralling literature." The last sentence was put on with such on over the top cheesy tone that got more than a few amused glances from their nearby class mates.

It was only a handful of seconds later that Ms. Tishler, the new latest science teacher, entered the room. "Alright, take your seats. In a moment we will choose partners and practice what we read about in chapter five."

The class mindlessly followed her orders, half of them already doodling in their notebooks in preparation for another boring class. Buffy herself was about to do the same but dropped her pencil as she pulled it out of her bag.

Going to retrieve it she was met with the off putting sight of a little boy staring directly at her from the door way, unblinking and just staring. Unsure what to do she stared back at him, unmoving herself. Buffy let Ms. Tishler's words pass her by as she studied the odd boy and wondered what it was about him that gave her the rising feeling of the night time creeps.

And before she could even shake off this feeling and ask the young boy what he was doing at the high school screams filled the room. Quickly turning around Buffy saw the majority of the class backing away frantically from Wendell's desk, where said boy was being covered by a swarm of spiders of all kinds.

Despite all the monsters she had seen, terrors she had face, Buffy Summers the Slayer of Vampires let out a rather unflattering squeak as she scampered back herself. Criticize her for her minor freak out if you would but spiders were a whole other brand of creepy than what she usually dealt with.

And in her defense the rest of the room's population had a very similar reaction, well except for her friends. Xander was rushing towards the trouble and swatting the bugs off of Wendell while Willow kept on warning him to be careful and not to startle the spiders.

The apparent reason of which became obvious as a few of the venomous critters sunk their fangs into Wendell. And still the poor boy screamed for someone to help him, too much in a half frozen panic to do anything else.

Behind her Buffy could hear a young voice casually say, "Sorry about that." But when she turned around the young boy in the door way had disappeared.

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"He's stable at least." Mrs. Calendar said as she and Giles informed the waiting teens with the news they heard from their impromptu teachers meeting with Mr. Flutie. That man sure did like keeping his staff well informed.

A useful little quirk for the ever growing demon hunter group of Sunnydale High to use and abuse.

"Fortunately enough i-it would seem that the local hospital has a surprising number of anti-venoms at their disposal." He honestly shouldn't be surprised, for one it was a hospital located on a Hellmouth. One could only imagine how well stocked they were for a number of occasions.

Or how the staff deluded themselves into thinking nothing was amiss in their home city, a rather disturbing thought really,

"So he's going to be alright?" Xander asked intently, hints of remorse and self-loathing in his voice.

"He… He should be fine." Giles said, treading carefully. After all Wendell had been victim to a number of spider bites from a number of breeds. There was no real telling what side effect there could be in the poor boy's future.

"We can visit him after school; I need to head there anyway." Morgan said, consoling his new friend. Apparently the boy was serious when he said he was going to help fight the night as much as he could before his time. An admirable goal, especially considering how little time he likely had.

Giles wondered if the teen would make it to see the end of the school year.

"You weren't planning on going alone again were you?" Morgan wasn't sure who voiced the question, Buffy, but the three mild glared he was on the receiving end of told him he better have the answer they were looking for. Just cause his dad was away for a few days on business his friends seemed to think it was time to mother hen him.

It was a little scary.

"Uh, no?" He tried to offer but no one was taking. So he decided to divert their attention. "So, we're sure this is magic and not a prank like everyone's saying?"

"Spiders were coming out of his book." Xander said blandly, lowering his own glare to answer, "Like, literally. They just kept on coming out the pages, like, like… I can't think of a good metaphor. Willow?"

For a brief instant the girl seemed torn on whether or not to help with the banter that was slowly coming back into her life. But after that second of hesitant she decided to give up a bit of her ire, "Locus?"

"Aren't those still bugs? I don't think that counts."

Willow gave a sniff at his doubt, "Still a good example." She said with as much dignity as she could.

"Yes, well, as interesting as this conversation is I'm finding myself agreeing with Xander, if your descriptions of the scene are anything to go by." Giles said and interrupted dryly. "I-it sounds like a form of conjuring or maybe animal summoning… D-did any of you see what happened to the spiders after?"

"I still have spider guts on my shoes if that means anything." Xander offered, and much to the disgust of the rest of the room, showed.

Trying to push his slight feeling of disgust aside Giles took in the new evidence into consideration, "Which leans the spell more towards a form of animal summoning than anything else. Do you four think you can retrieve the boy's text book? W-we may be able to get something off of that."

"Sure, I think they left it with his bag in the science room." Buffy offered as she stood, "I can swing by and grab it before lunch is over."

"I'll go with you." Willow quickly said, causing Buffy to inwardly groan as she knew that Willow was still miffed with Xander even after all the progress made. As understanding as the Slayer was being the red head really needed to get over it, it wasn't like they were a couple and broke up or anything like that.

Still though, Buffy wouldn't mind the company. For some reason the school was giving her more chills than usual. Might just be the nerves over her dad's upcoming visit.

But as she got to the door Buffy had a random thought, something straying at the edge of her mind that she could only then remember. "Hey Giles? Did any of the teachers bring their kid to work today?"

"Not that I know of. Ms. Calendar?"

"Same, why do you ask Buffy?" The computer teacher asked with a tilt of her head, wondering about the strange question.

"There was this kid, in the doorway, when all the badness happened." Buffy said with a half shrug not really sure where she was going what it had to do with anything. Besides the fact the kid gave her the creeps. "I don't know, maybe we should check in on him? To see if he saw anything…"

Buffy let the sentence hang obviously intending for the adults to translate what she didn't say, just like every other teen expected of their elders.

And it went about as well as it usually did, with the adult only understanding what was said and a quarter left to interpretation. "We'll look in on the kid."Ms. Calendar promised, figuring that Buffy was more worried about the kid than anything suspicious.

Satisfied that someone was going to look in on her worries Buffy nodded and left the room.

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They weren't able get around the hospital till sometime round four. Xander blamed it mostly on Ms. Calendar, as she wanted him around to watch them examine the book and the rituals used.

He had groaned over it of course because he wanted to go to the hospital immediately, mostly to apologize to Wendell. He had just ended up making things worse by trying to help after all. Still though, his magic teacher was insistent that he watch.

So sitting next to Willow, who was too enraptured by what she might learn to pay any attention to him, he waited through near two hours' worth of rituals just to learn that the book was just a book. No etched in summoning circle, no burn marks from spirit apparition, no residue magic what so ever.

Just a normal, everyday, text book.

Something that flustered Giles to no end.

But it did make their trip to the hospital all the more important. Because, now, Wendell was their only real clue as to what was going on.

So, after dropping a rather late and reluctant Morgan off to his appointment, the rest of their group went to visit Wendell. But the boy really wasn't in any shape to speak, much less talk. His face was swollen and discolored from a multitude of venoms that had been injected. Xander was pretty sure the rest of the boy's body was in the same shape, but the sheets covered it from view.

Guilt ripped through him at the sight. He tried to help and look what had happened, he had caused more harm then there should have been.

"Hello? Are you Wendell's friends?" A voice asked from near the bed, dragging Xander from his pity party. There sitting next to the bed was a middle aged woman with mussed make up and tear streaks along her face, she must have been Wendell's mom. How he missed her he did not know but her presence wasn't doing his guilty any favors.

"Ah, yes, w-well the children are. Miss Calendar and myself are members of the faculty that wished to pass along our best wishes." Giles said for them, introducing them all in turn.

When it got to Xander's turn he became self-conscious, half expecting to be yelled at for putting her son in the hospital. But that never happened; she just treated like any other well-wisher and didn't give him a second glace.

He felt a bit disappointed with that.

They stayed for a few more minutes out of courtesy but as soon as it became apparent that they would be getting no news from Wendell they hurried to take their leave of the room. Though they didn't leave the hospital itself, they all waited for Morgan to get out wanting to keep the dedicated boy in the loop.

At least that was to be the sentiment but Ms. Calendar started to wander off, examining the decorations and designs along the hospital walls. And with each passing hallway her face scrunched up a little more, part in curiosity and partly in worry, till the point she called Giles over.

"Look at this." She said as he came next her, tracing a pattern within the design on the wall.

Giles frowned as his eyes squinted, letting his gaze follow the curves and hidden designs his co-worker was showing him. "My word." He eventually mumbled, "Is that what I think it is?"

"If you think it's a Sobrius glyph then, yes, it is."

"A what?" Buffy asked, feeling this was a conversation she should be listening in on.

"A rather old style of magic using blood soaked ink to absorb ambient magic and filter it for use, in this case making people reach a conclusion within their rationality." Something that explained much in his opinion.

"What?" The three teens asked, two confused and one curious.

"It, ah, makes people see what they want to see?" He half asked, and giving a consulting look towards Ms. Calendar. Who nodded back, giving both confirmation that he was going the right direction and telling him to continue, "Making it so they see muggers with mask instead of demons and the like… I personally prefer ward stones myself but still… its quite ingenious."

"Is that what happened to my mom?" Buffy asked intently, showing another sign of what Xander was sure was some sort of Super Slayer Detective power.

It took Giles a moment to process the question and think of the event Buffy was referring to. "Quite possibly, yes, but she is far from the only target of this spell." Giles said as he wandered off to exam another design on the opposing wall.

"There all over." Jenny said, "I notice something wrong when we got here but I didn't know what it was till I saw the design enough times."

"Notice something odd?" Willow asked, wondering what gave it away.

"Magic sensing, I'm sure Giles will go over it with you soon." She shifted her gaze to Xander, "You on the other hand still need a good deal of work before we get to that."

Xander tried to prevent his pout by asking, "But why is it here?"

"It means someone doesn't want anyone remembering what goes bump in the night." Buffy said with narrowed eyes, angered at both the idea of it and the fact it was used on her mother.

"Quite right Buffy." Giles said with an equally dangerous tone, coming out of his admiring state as he realized the same thing. "And this someone is quite obviously a skilled mage to do this. One that has been here for quite some time." And had enough influence, or skill, to ward an entire hospital.

A ward effective enough to keep a populace practically blind to what was right in front of them.

One had to wonder just how many other areas and buildings were similarly warded to keep up such a charade. To keep a whole town blind and deaf as it did, as this person wanted. A frightening thing to ponder really.

"This is something we must look into." Because for what reason could anyone want for such a thing? To put up such a masquerade and reinforce it to such a level?

Any way he turned the idea he couldn't think of a good reason to do such a thing or any of the outcomes that come from it.

"Uh, what did I miss?" Morgan asked, feeling a bit confused as he came upon the rather serious group not ten minutes later.

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**AN:**

**That's it for now, hopefully by posting this I can actually write more for this story. Hope you enjoyed what I had.**


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